


there you will find your treasure

by megs_got_all7 (megyal)



Series: Find Your Treasure MarkJin AU [1]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Biting, M/M, Magic, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 01:23:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8645896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megyal/pseuds/megs_got_all7
Summary: Modern Vampire AU:Prompt:How does a one night stand for vampires go? Living in a house surrounded by his vampire friends and their mates (chosen by biting) is taking a toll on Mark's sanity. Mark goes out drinking one night to try to numb his feelings. The next morning he wakes up with a hot, beautiful naked man (Jinyoung) next to him. The man's neck is bitten and Mark has to deal with the consequences.





	1. Can anybody find me (somebody to love)

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [JinyoungFicFest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/JinyoungFicFest) collection. 



> If there's one thing I think I can write, it's a vampire AU. I started this for the Jinyoung Fic Fest, and I will continue posting, though I don't plan on going more than ten chapters. 
> 
> Please leave comments! I love hearing what you think. I made some slight changes to the prompt, but I hope the prompter and any other readers enjoy!
> 
> The title is from the quote:  
>  _“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” (― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist)_  
>  And this chapter's title is from Somebody to Love by Queen!  
> 

Often, Mark was the one of the first ones up and about for the day. He would slip out of bed in a fairly spry manner and trundle out to the living room. Usually Jaebum was already up as well, flipping through the channels on the television, or going over his notes for class. Youngjae would be gaming, his eyes overly bright from another all-nighter, but the others would still be fast asleep. It was a boring life, really, but it was _his_ ; no one telling him who to be or how to act, like back home in the States. Just a quiet life in South Korea with his housemates.

Right now, however, he groaned weakly as he wriggled over to the edge of his bed. The curtains were pulled wide, for some stupid reason. He tumbled off the side of his mattress and crawled over to where a bright square of morning sunshine had settled on a section of his floor, and was obviously deciding on further conquest into his room. He tugged the heavy curtains to block out the light, wrinkling his nose as he did so. Some of the rays had slid along the bare skin of his arms, causing an itchy sensation under the flesh. Fortunately, he was not prone to the disquieting penchant for exploding when exposed to sunlight; however, like most of the modern generation, sunlight was a great irritant. He could go out in the daytime, yes, but not without a thick layer of sunscreen, heavy shades and a very wide umbrella.

Mark had no reason to go out in the daytime, anyway. His days were mostly spent at home, going through his social media over and over again, playing games with any of his housemates who happened to be around and waiting for the rest to come home. He liked his housemates a lot, even if two of them had been assigned to protect him while he lived in South Korea. They had had that stiff expectancy that nearly everyone developed when they met him for the first time, but after just a few days, they'd become quite friendly; enough that when Jaebum and Yugyeom had asked if their mates could live in the house as well, Mark had easily agreed. There was more than enough space. The American Tribunal had seen to that.

Yugyeom's mate was cheerful but sharp-tongued, with an stylish, easy confidence. Mark had been informed that in Thailand, Yugyeom's mate had been raised in one of the most exclusive communities, trained carefully to resist the powerful influence of the thrall and provide the vampire with mental and emotional support. He'd been ranked very high in his home country, spoiled for choice of vampire suitors and showered with courtship gifts. When he'd chosen a suitor from a little known Korean family, it had sent waves of shock all through that part of the hemisphere. 

"Call me BamBam," he'd said the first time they'd met, his dark gaze flickering all over Mark's face in open curiosity. Mark had reached out with cautious tendrils of his mind, poking at the stubborn link between him and Yugyeom. It was very new, but very strong. BamBam withstood the extra pressure with barely a mental quaver, and then gently but firmly pushed him out.

Mark had been surprised to know that Yugyeom already had that sort of bond; he was fairly young, even for a vampire, barely of age. Jaebum had shown up with not one but _two_ mates, and one of them was _another vampire_.

That was so weird; Jaebum had given him a flat, challenging stare, gripping the hand of his human mate, one with a mind so brightly overwhelming. In that very instant, Mark had had to bring down inner shields so hard that he felt them snap shut. The human, Jackson, had given him a quick, apologetic glance and had reined in the powerful spread of his mind. He wasn't always like that, thank goodness; sometimes Jackson was so tranquil that Mark felt like he floated on a very still ocean. 

Jaebum held the hand of his other mate, Youngjae, just as tightly. He had introduced them both to Mark in the manner of someone who expected disapproval but Mark had been distracted by Jackson's obvious psychic fortitude. He handled the constant weight of two vampire mates the way a person would carry kittens in their palms. 

Mark had never seen an arrangement like this before. Vampire-vampire pairings were...exceedingly unusual, to say the very least, but Youngjae and Jaebum didn't seem put out by it at all. The key was probably Jackson, Mark had surmised.

Yugyeom had been delighted that the presence of his elder and his mates in the house, even though BamBam had seemed a little suspicious at first. Mark's careless acceptance of Jaebum's two mates had been the right course of action. BamBam ceased his judgemental expressions and Jaebum threw off the last of his coldness, addressing Mark with concern and familiarity.

It was all very nice; Mark really liked living with them. It was better than what he'd had in the States, taken from his own family at such a young age to live with the rest of the Heirs. Mark had hated it there; he'd broken away the first chance he'd gotten, and the Tribunal had let him go. He was only the Seventh Heir, anyway. Important enough to warrant protection, but not that important to chase half across the globe. Mark liked living with his bodyguards and their mates, his friends....

...but sometimes he would gaze at BamBam and Yugyeom laughing over one of their many private jokes, their hands folded together, heads bent close. He'd look away, feeling his cool skin chill even more. He'd listen to Jackson and Youngjae argue over something minor, trying to get Jaebum on their side, and he felt an unsettling sense of loss. His days were quiet and most of his nights were quieter, if he wasn't promoting some party in his awkwardly quiet way that most people somehow mistook for composure. He really couldn't ask for anything more.

 _Today_ he could ask for his head to stop throbbing. At the moment, he couldn't recall much from the night before. They'd all gone to that new club called TTW, and it had had a really nice mix of vampire and human patrons. Mark obviously had had too much to drink. He got to his feet, gazing blearily around the messy room. All of his bedding was piled up on one side, and he decided against tidying up for now. He needed to soothe his parched throat. There were muscles in his body that were screaming with overexertion; however he'd strained himself, he would heal rapidly, but he needed sustenance and soon.

Jaebum, bless his face, had already set aside some juice mixed with some erythrocytes and a dash of plasma, served with a large plate of toast. Mark, who had dragged on a loose pair of linen sleep-pants, slumped over a eating counter and munched sleepily.

"Hope you had fun," Jaebum said in a sing-song manner, thumbing through his phone with a smirk on his lips. Mark grunted, and sipped at his juice. "I mean, I could hear you having as much fun as one person could have."

"What," Mark asked through a mouthful of chewed toast. "What are you talking about?"

BamBam strolled in, already prepared for his day at the popular boutique he managed; he wore a leopard print jacket over a dark shirt and black trousers, hair lying in wet blonde waves. BamBam coloured his hair regularly. Mark squinted at him and shook his own head, instantly transforming his dark brown strands to a light blond that matched BamBam's. BamBam scowled at him.

"Showoff," he groused, seizing two glasses and pouring out juice for himself and Yugyeom: one vampire-mix, the other regular orange juice. "That whole shapeshifting thing is wasted on you."

Mark grinned. He didn't need to remind BamBam that he wasn't as powerful as some elder vampires could be, able to alter their entire form. Mark had only ever tried changing his hair, anyway. He wasn't able to do much more.

BamBam sipped at his glass, carefully holding Yugyeom's glass in the other. "Anyway, I'm so glad that _someone_ broke his losing streak last night. Someone in this room. Someone whose name rhymes with 'wark'."

"Is there such a word?" Youngjae wondered as he walked into the kitchen as well, trying to grab Yugyeom's juice out of BamBam's hand. He was faster than BamBam, hand blurring through the air to steal the juice, but Jaebum was faster; he intercepted Youngjae's sneak attack and squinted in faux disapproval.

"I'm sure there is," BamBam insisted, but at last Mark's mind clicked open for business and memories from last night began to march in droves. In addition, he noticed a heavy tug in the center of his soul, the hook originating from his room. 

There had been a young man with thick dark hair and a sly smile, and strong hands, who laughed right in Mark's face as if everything Mark said had been the most hilarious thing in the world. A young man who had followed Mark home.

Who was _still in Mark's bed_.

Mark leapt up from where he had been slumped against the narrow kitchen island and fairly raced back to his room. He pulled up short in front of his door, one hand reaching out to touch the handle. He clenched his fingers into a fist for a moment, surprised at the slight shaking, and then pushed open the door.

The bedding was as he had left it, a piled up tangle of material. As he watched, the sheets shifted. Now that he was more awake, he could hear faint breathing, and the steady beat of a human pulse. He crept close and knelt on his bed, pulling the sheets down as carefully as he could manage.

The young man from the night before was slowly revealed like a prize, curled up his side with one hand tucked under his cheeks. His hair was messy, and Mark felt his eyes widen at the red marks on the bare skin of his neck, shoulders and chest. He touched his own lips, wondering.

The other man stirred and opened his eyes, lashes long and thick. He made a soft noise in the back of his throat and then turned his head to stare right at Mark's face. They looked at each other for what seemed to be a very long time. Mark would have been content to just remain in that spot all day and consider the line of his jaw and the shape of his eyes, but the stranger's lips crooked into a smile and he sat up.

"Good morning," he told Mark in a low, raspy voice, rubbing the sleep out of one eye. He blinked at Mark with the other. "You dyed your hair?"

"Oh," Mark said and reflexively switched his hair to the colour it had been before. The man gazed at this process with a species of curious delight. "What--" he was going to ask _is your name_ , but it floated into the very front of his brain, light and beautiful as a butterfly. " _Jinyoung_ ," he breathed, and the whole world rotated on a sharper axis around him. The man, Jinyoung, smiled without showing his teeth, face slightly puffy but eyes bright.

"You remembered, that's good. And you're Mark," Jinyoung said, and the world settled back into place, but more firmly than before. "I'm surprised."

"Surprised?" Mark repeated, letting his gaze track over Jinyoung's cheeks and lips. "Why?"

"You're so popular on SNS," Jinyoung replied, tone teasing as he settled back against the pillows, pulling up the covers to pool over his lap. "I'm sure you have many names to remember."

Usually, Mark would have been struck speechless by such a blatant mix of flirtation and mockery, but now he simply smiled and said, "Sounds like you're in the habit of making baseless assumptions."

"Oooh," Jinyoung breathed, eyes going wide. "So you're not just a pretty face? How nice."

"You should know all about pretty faces," Mark retorted, quick and easy, and Jinyoung let out a laugh so funny that it set Mark off as well. They sat there giggling at each other for about four minutes straight. It was the simplest thing for Mark to lean over and kiss him right on the mouth, savouring the taste of his smile. When he pulled back, Jinyoung's cheeks were red but his smile was very jaunty.

"Did I bite you last night?" Mark asked, and Jinyoung nodded, his smile fading a little but his expression still comfortable. "Oh, let me check if they've healed up." He pressed his fingers to one side of Jinyoung's jaw, and the other man tilted his head to one side. Mark stared at the side of his neck, his brow furrowing over the two pinpricks in Jinyoung's skin. They appeared as if Mark had bit him weeks ago, not last night.

"Are they okay?" Jinyoung asked in a soft rumble and Mark shook himself out of the distant disquiet.

"Yeah, they're good. Do you have any headaches, or do you feel weak?"

"No." Jinyoung turned his face into Mark's open hand, cheek warm and slightly scruffy against his palm. "I feel great."

Mark smiled at him, and was about to say something when Jinyoung asked, "What about these?"

"What about--" the rest of the question shriveled up in the back of Mark's throat. Jinyoung held out his left wrist, displaying the two healed over puncture wounds in the flesh: _bonding_ bite marks.

"Oh, _no_ ," Mark murmured. He must have spoken at the frequency that vampires could detect, with added distress in his voice, for his door was kicked open in just a few beats. 


	2. That's alright (I found a martyr in my bed tonight)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gangs all here! Some vampire lore/politics/history too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from Some Nights, by Fun

Mark’s bodyguards entered the room as blurred shadows, converging on where Mark sat on his bed with Jinyoung. They would incapacitate Jinyoung first and ask questions later, because that was how Jaebum operated.

Mark reached out without thinking. His hands closed over what would appear as empty air to Jinyoung, who didn’t have the enhanced vision of a vampire. He snagged the wrists of both his guards, one in each hand, and braced himself against their combined weight and speed. Jaebum and Yugyeom tumbled over, their bodies losing that nebulous quality as they collapsed into solid, ungainly heaps on the floor.

“Mark,” Jaebum said flatly from where he was now sprawled at Mark’s feet. “…why.”

“Yeah, hyung, why?” Yugyeom struggled up to his knees. He had smacked face-first into the hard wooden side of the bedframe, his forehead reddening from the impact. “That hurt!”

“Sorry,” Mark said as he released them from his grip. “He hadn’t done anything to me, so I didn’t want you to harm him.”

Jaebum sat back on his heels, a scowl gathering on his brow. “You sounded as if you were in trouble.” He glanced at Jinyoung, a quick, tallying look. Jinyoung had pulled the sheets up to his neck, his hair still a dark tousle. His eyes stared widely at what must have been a very abrupt appearance of Mark’s live-in guards.

Mark took a deep breath which was just on the very edge of shaky. “I _am_ in trouble.” He reached over to Jinyoung and beckoned. Jinyoung frowned, but pulled out his hand from where it was hidden beneath the covers. Mark grasped his wrist, turning it gently so that the bite-marks could be seen.

Yugyeom actually gasped at the sight of them, clapping one hand over his mouth. He seemed torn between delight and confusion. Youngjae stumbled in and halted just one step inside Mark’s room, staring at the ruined door. Jackson and BamBam peered over his shoulder.

“Is Mark-hyung okay?” BamBam demanded. “Yugyeom, why are you on the floor?”

“Mark-hyung’s fault,” Yugyeom answered, shuffling forward so he could get a closer look at the marks in Jinyoung’s wrist. “Bammie, look!”

BamBam shoved past Jackson and Youngjae, stomping over to Mark’s bed. There had never had so many people in Mark's room at once. BamBam rested his hand on Yugyeom’s shoulder as he leaned over, his eyes going wide. He looked up at Jinyoung.

“Why have you bonded with _him_?” he demanded, his question directed at Mark even though he continued to stare at Jinyoung as if the other human wore a crown of meat. “He’s not proper. He’s not from an accepted clan.”

“What—“ Jinyoung started, his tone one of pouting bemusement.

“Hyung, you’ve taken a mate!” Jackson bellowed, and he scrambled inside, followed closely by Youngjae.

“Wow!” Youngjae shouted. Jackson shoved BamBam out of the way and seized Jinyoung’s wrist. Jinyoung shuddered and tried to pull his hand away, but Jackson held firm. Mark reacted quickly: he slapped Jackson’s hand and Jackson recoiled, blinking rapidly. He probably hadn’t seen Mark move, and Mark _may_ have struck him a little harder than necessary. Mark glanced at Jaebum and Youngjae, who had both flinched when he’d hit Jackson. They now stared back at Mark with consternation, and the air was charged with sudden tension.

“You know better,” Youngjae finally said to Jackson, who rubbed at his hand with a petulant scowl. “You should remember what vampires are like when newly bonded.”

Jackson’s pout deepened, and then he sighed in an aggrieved manner. “I know! I just wanted to see.”

“You shouldn’t have done that to Jackson,” Jaebum said in a quiet rumble to Mark, red pinpricks of light in the depth of his dark eyes. Jackson walked over to him, murmuring in comforting tones and touching the skin of Jaebum’s neck. He stroked behind the vampire’s ears with slow movements of his fingers and the rigid line of Jaebum’s body began to relax.

“I’m sorry, Jackson,” Mark said, very sincerely and Jackson dipped his chin in quick acceptance. Watching Jackson touch Jinyoung had set up a cascade of potent emotions in Mark. In addition, he’d sensed Jinyoung’s surprise at being grabbed like that, mostly because the touch should have been innocuous, but it was not; for Jinyoung, it had probably felt as if Jackson had poured hot wax on his skin.

Mark searched the fledging bond between himself and Jinyoung; it was like standing at the edge of a very warm pool of water. From the stories that all other bonded vampires related, a bond-mate dampened the vampire's heightened perception of the world, which became more intense the older a vampire became. An unbonded vampire ran the great risk of reverting to the state of an Ancient: dangerously confused beings which hid in dark caves, exiting only at night to search out prey.

Right now, Mark could not detect any change to his senses at all. He felt Jinyoung hovering around his mind, but there was nothing closely protective in the sensation…not the way he heard Yugyeom speak of BamBam’s influence, or Jaebum and Youngjae of Jackson.

“It’s nice, though!” Jackson said brightly. “I’m glad Mark’s finally gotten bonded~”

“But he’s not from any proper human clan,” BamBam insisted. “Trust me, I know.”

“What are you _talking_ about?” Jinyoung snapped. “What is a _proper human clan_?”

“You don’t know?” Jackson gave Jinyoung the most incredulous stare, eyebrows nearly at his hairline. “How can you not know?”

“Explain it to me,” Jinyoung said, his smile very sharp. “Because, if you didn’t notice, I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“But you have the Ability,” Jackson went on, his happy expression melting into sheer confusion. “I can pick it up, you have it."

Jinyoung shook his head, patently exasperated. Mark looked at Jaebum for help, but the other vampire just shrugged. Human-mates generally grew up in special clans, trained to use what was referred to as the Ability, an extrasensory capacity which was channeled to assist vampire partners.

Nearly all humans with the Ability could only pick up vampires, and not other humans, manifesting this gift fairly early in life. Jackson had manifested quite late. Born into one of the oldest Hong Kong clans, he had been considered a dud by nearly everyone but his parents and their vampire bond-mates.

Jackson had been prepared to live as a normal human when his Ability appeared when he was nineteen, with the usual signs: intense psychic bursts, even visions. These warning signals typically faded away, unless the human became a Seer: their precognition strengthened considerably. Jackson’s precognition faded, as expected. However, his psychic ability simply…spread out. He could even detect the minds of other non-Ability humans, his natural empathy enhanced with this intense trait.

Jaebum had told Mark that Jackson probably _needed_ to balance two vampires, instead of one. Not only could he easily handle it, but Jackson’s power for one vampire was more of a stranglehold than support.

“The first time we met, at his debut party,” Jaebum had said, when he and Mark had been chatting quietly in the deep quiet of one morning. “Youngjae and I were hanging out in a corner because we knew no debutant would want to be courted by a vampire couple. I mean, some of the other vampires were giving us the stink eye all night.”

Mark had nodded. Both his parents were vampires, and they had each had their own longstanding bond-mates as platonic support before they’d met each other. An established vampire-vampire couple with no human bond-mates was seen as unstable: who supported whom? They would both go insane as their vampire perceptions increased as they aged; and without human bond-mates, they’d live for a very long time, steeped in mutual derangement for ages. Yet, to Jaebum and Youngjae, this was the risk they had been both been willing to take for each other.

Jaebum had continued with a small smile. “Then…I felt Jackson just grab at me.” He motioned to his head, indicating his whole psyche. “It felt like being suffocated, it was too much. And then he pulled in Youngjae and it just— “He broke off, staring at the floor, his throat working for a moment before he could move on. “It’s like Jackson broadcasted Youngjae to me and me to Youngjae. I always felt that Youngjae was right, but at that moment he was perfect. So was Jackson.”

Even back home in the States, Mark had heard the near mythical story of the human who had Accepted a vampire couple, an occurrence both rare and astounding. He hadn’t expected to meet them when he’d escaped to South Korea, much less live with them. Another unusual point of the whole affair was that the human mate had enfolded both vampires before protocols had been observed in the proper order: Courtship, Offer then Acceptance. Jackson was the first of his kind; Youngjae claimed that Jackson didn’t do anything like a normal person, and everyone agreed.

Jackson’s side of the story had been no less engaging, though far more rambling. “I mean, after I manifested my Ability, it was like a riot in my head!”

“A riot?” Mark had murmured but Jackson barreled on.

“I pick up _everyone_.” He had pouted dramatically at the memory. “I’d be walking and I’d see what another person was thinking of and what they were worrying about and look, I like people in general but we think the most messed up things, okay? But with Jaebum-hyung and Youngjae-ah? Oh my.” A peaceful smile suffused his features. “It’s all so right. I’m taking care of them, so I don’t have to focus on the rest. I think I have space for you, though!”

“I’m okay for now,” Mark had told him, amused and touched. “But I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jackson had always jokingly said that Mark should Offer and he would Accept, just in case Mark didn’t find a mate in time. Mark suspected that it was not just a lighthearted tease on Jackson’s part: he probably _could_ take on Mark quite easily, protecting his mind the same way he protected Jaebum and Youngjae. He was that strong. Mark admired him, because he’d had to be trained in a much shorter time than nearly anyone else with the Ability. Jackson had thrown himself into it with the same short of dedication as with his fencing.

Now, Jackson stared at Jinyoung. Mark could sense the great reach of his power spreading out, scanning. He barely stopped himself from leaping out and tackling Jackson for touching Jinyoung in some way. Jaebum’s stare scorched the side of his face and Mark wisely kept himself still.

“Yeah,” Jackson finally murmured. “He has it. He’s not trained at all, but he has it.”

“I don’t have _anything_ ,” Jinyoung grumbled. “I—“

“Can't you feel him?” Jackson asked, tipping his chin in Mark’s direction. “You're not even trying, aren’t you?”

Jinyoung seemed to hold his breath. He looked at Mark, really _looked_ at him, and Mark felt a warm breeze hover near his skin. It sank deep into him and very slowly began to pull him close, wrapping him in layers so gentle that it felt like silk against his mind. The sharpness of his world began to soften, and for the first time he experienced real comfort in his existence as a vampire.

He gasped as that comforting embrace was ripped away and he opened his eyes. He hadn’t even known he’d closed them. Jinyoung gaped back at him, his eyes so wide that the whites were clearly apparent.

Jinyoung’s voice shook as he asked, “What have you done to me?” His confusion washed against the shores of Mark’s mind, followed by waves of anger. Mark reached out, to comfort in some way, but Jinyoung’s whole expression, both internally and externally, became forbidding. Mark pulled back his outstretched hand and tucked it under his own thigh.

“What have _you_ done to _him_?” Jaebum’s voice was so cold and hard. “He Offered to be your mate. You obviously Accepted. You both skipped out on the Courtship part….unless you kept that really short.”

“I didn’t Accept anyone,” Jinyoung said, glaring at Jaebum. Mark was impressed, despite the ball of worry which settled in the pit of his stomach. Jaebum intimidated most people, even quite a few elders; here was Jinyoung looking as if he was contemplating the best way to inflict maximum damage on a vampire.

Mark felt his cheeks go warm, far a hazy memory from last night had floated up. Soft breaths against his cheeks, warm hands stroking along his skin before gripping tightly at his hips. A bare chest pressing against his, the sound of a heartbeat like a perfect storm in his ears. A mind grasping towards him.

_…will you have me? Will you take me as yours?_

_…I’ll have you forever._

The words weren’t quite right, but the intent had to have been there, and pure, for this bond to exist. The bite on the wrist was the final seal. Mark was utterly baffled at himself. He’d run away from his clan, yes, but the protocols had been drilled so deeply into him, since he had been very young. He shouldn’t have done something so monumentally hasty as this; he wasn’t even strong enough to sense if Jinyoung would have been capable to take on the weight of a vampire’s mind. What a fortunate coincidence that he had turned out to have that Ability.

That fact didn’t stop a nauseating disquiet from blooming under his skin. He ducked his head, staring at the softly rumpled surface of the bedding. He’d dragged Jinyoung into a permanent intertwining of their lives. Someone touched his elbow and he looked up once more.

Jinyoung leaned close, his fingers light against Mark’s skin. His brow was furrowed in concern. The sheets slipped down to reveal a few more inches of his chest. Mark swallowed hard at the sight of reddened patches on his skin, a map displaying the route his lips took last night.

“Are you okay?” Jinyoung murmured. He was even reaching out in a clumsily psychic manner. Mark enjoyed a few seconds of that protective sensation before Jinyoung realized what he was doing and yanked himself away once more, a short space between their bodies and a chasm between their minds.

“Stop doing that,” Jackson scolded, as Mark sat trembling slightly from the loss. “You can’t keep doing that to him, that’s wrong.”

“What about what he’s done to me!” Jinyoung fairly snarled; Jackson actually took a step back, blinking at the vehemence that he probably felt more than he heard. Jinyoung pressed two fingers to his temple, his ears and cheeks flushed red. “He’s in here!”

“And he’s paying for that privilege, too,” Jaebum told him, coldly unsympathetic. “With a portion of his life.”

Jinyoung said, “What?” His voice had become very small.

BamBam rolled his eyes. “Aren’t they teaching this in regular schools now? Humans with the Ability can support vampire minds. Vampires give back a part of their life energy. It’s a lot of quantum stuff, so _boring_ —“

“That’s why none of the modern generation of vampires are immortal.” Jackson cut into the impromptu lecture with a knowledgeable air, nodding to some unheard beat. “And why human mates have a longer life-span.”

“You didn’t know this?” Youngjae said as he stared at Jinyoung, openly curious and concerned. The next question was inevitable, but before Mark could stop him, he blurted out: “Do you even know that Mark-hyung is one of the Heirs?”

Mark watched Jinyoung’s face go still and grey, but his voice was even as he asked, "One of...the Seven?"

“Oh, so you do know something about vampire culture,” Jaebum said, very snidely. He wasn’t being fair, though, Mark thought. Even humans who hadn’t been raised in Ability clans were aware that the ruling structure of the vampire nations of European countries and their former colonies tended to still include Kings and Queens, even if there were now legislative bodies to carry out administrative duties.

Countries like South Korea, Japan and mainland China hadn’t had an actual Queen or King in centuries, even though there were individuals who were revered as such.

“I’m just the Seventh,” Mark said now. “It’s not a big—“

“I have to go now,” Jinyoung said in a voice that was preternaturally calm. He might have been holding himself away from Mark, but they were bond-mates now. Mark could detect his increasing panic. “I…have a class. Soon.”

Youngjae pursed his lips. “But—“

"Everybody out," Mark said, and got to his feet. "Let's allow Jinyoung to get dressed."

"I hope we don't find out that you're some kind of Heir-trap," Jaebum threw out as he left with the others, because he just couldn't leave well enough alone. "Maybe you planned to catch yourself an Heir all along." He strolled out, leaving Mark exasperated and Jinyoung with a flustered and furious expression. Mark hesitated and then left as well, though he waited in the corridor, leaning against the wall facing his door.

In a few moments, it swung open and they stared at each other for much longer than necessary. Jinyoung's clothing consisted of simple black jeans and a button-down shirt, also black. His glossy hair lay neatly across his brow, and Mark detected the scent of his own soap that Jinyoung had used to wash his face.

Everything in Mark screamed to keep him close. Mark clenched his fists and tried hard to hold those thoughts away from Jinyoung.

Jinyoung cleared his throat and began, "Well, I should--" but Mark cut in.

"I'll fix this," he promised. "I'm sorry that… it happened this way." He wasn't sorry that it had happened, though. Jinyoung's tight expression softened.

"Your friend seems to think I'm at fault," he said, taking a few steps towards Mark. "Maybe he's right."

Mark shook his head, staring up into Jinyoung's eyes. There was hardly any space between them now, and he could feel the warmth of Jinyoung's body so near to his. 

"I think you should leave," Mark murmured as Jinyoung's head dipped close. If Jinyoung kissed him now, he would take him back to bed; no question about it.

Jinyoung raised his head, his dark gaze considering. "You're right," he said, and turned away, walking off towards the main part of the house, heading towards the exit. Mark pressed his back against the cool wall and forced himself to slowly unfurl his clenched fists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying so far! Please leave comments/likes/kudos, they make my day!
> 
> I will try to post every Sunday!


	3. I'm looking for a good time (baby can you be cool)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phonecalls, Councils and Tribunals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to cureyourtemper for the beta! This chapter's title is from I don't care by Brandon and Savannah.

Mark sat on his unmade bed, right in the spot that Jinyoung had been sleeping; it was warm and carried a trace of his scent. He turned on his phone and opened one of the many SNS apps; he searched his list of followers, scrolling through very carefully. He didn't find what he was looking for, so he switched over to another app, gaze sweeping through the thousands of followers he gained from his part-time job of internet vampire celebrity. He went through nearly all his accounts until he finally encountered the user name _old_nyoung,_ accompanied by an icon with just one side of Jinyoung's face, the edge of his smirk just barely visible. Mark paused, then followed him back.

He went through the posts tagged with his name, and the ones from last night were simultaneously astounding and worrisome. Mark saw blurry images of himself and Jinyoung on the dancefloor of the club, so close that they seemed to be melded into one form. One video was clear enough for the viewer to see Mark's face buried into the curve of Jinyoung's neck. The rest of the tags had been generally exclamatory: _#DIDMARKBITEHIM??? #nohedidnt #whoisthisman #OMMMGGGGG #sonotlegal_

Mark heaved a long exhale and then locked his phone. He stared at his blank expression reflected in the dark surface before getting up and going out into the living area. Jackson sprawled on the sofa with his head in Youngjae's lap, and BamBam was nowhere to be seen: he had probably rushed off to the boutique to start work. The sliding door to the large patio was slightly ajar, cool morning air slipping inside to ruffle at the blinds. Mark could hear Jaebum talking in clipped syllables.

"Mark-hyung," Jackson called out gently, looking at him with a smile. "It will be okay."

Mark nodded, touched that Jackson would say that, but not particularly comforted. Jackson probably picked up quite easily on his internal stress right now, because Mark wasn't trying too hard to shield himself. Jackson was powerful but he was no Seer, like those humans who were able to select the Heirs. He nodded at Jackson, hoping the slight smile on his lips wasn't as stiff as it felt, and then sat in one of the overstuffed armchairs.

Jaebum entered a few moments later, followed by Yugyeom, who had the most crestfallen expression on his face. Mark felt his heart go out to the young vampire; he had been delighted to have been chosen to guard Mark, and had been very dedicated to his task. A thought struck him: would the Korean Council remove his guards because of Mark's stupid actions? He felt cold inside and clenched the arms of the chair. 

"I've informed the Korean Council," Jaebum said, his tone low and disheartened. He slipped his phone into one of his pockets. "They're going to contact the Tribunal in the States. You should get a call soon."

To Mark's utter dismay, Jaebum sank to the ground, kneeling with his head bowed. Yugyeom followed form without hesitation, folding his tall frame with easy grace.

"No, Jaebum, no--" Mark began, but Jaebum shook his head firmly. The rest of Mark's negation died on its way to his lips.

"Seventh Heir," Jaebum said formally. "It is my fault that you are in this predicament. I should have watched over you more closely. Look on us favourably and forgive us."

"Yes, please," Yugyeom murmured, his dark hair obscuring his eyes. Jackson and Youngjae sat upright, staring between Mark and his two guards with their mouths hanging open.

Mark swallowed, hard. Last night had been a mess, but it had been _his_ mess. He had posted on his SNS about going to the Club TTW, as part of his 'promoting' activity. As a foreign vampire, there was a lot of inordinate interest from young Koreans in Mark: what he wore, where he went, what he consumed. He had a few contracts from which he gleaned some personal income, and the Club TTW was a new one.

TTW, Thicker Than Water, had had a nice atmosphere. It was spacious and cool, and they'd been escorted to a special booth upon arrival, raised up from the main floor by about six steps, with padded seats and a clear view. The liquor had appeared and they'd had some drinks before the others had raced onto the dancefloor. Jackson was happily trapped between his two vampires and BamBam had his arms wrapped around Yugyeom's neck, narrowly eyeing anyone who dared to stare too long and obviously gossiping about what others were wearing.

Mark had remained in the booth, gazing out unto the writhing crowd. He felt maudlin, barely remembering to smile for when people snapped their pics of him and uploaded their posts. He had been waiting for their designated server to return with another round, and had become impatient; so he got to his feet, meaning to head towards the bar for himself, and then froze.

Jinyoung stood nearby, looking up into Mark's booth. He had taken a single step back, apparently flustered by the full attention of a vampire suddenly fixed on him. Then, Jinyoung had visibly attempted to gather his composure, running the long fingers of one hand through his dark hair. His full mouth quirked into a small smile. Mark's entire reality had pulled into one concentrated beam, focused on Jinyoung. He felt _pulled_ , and he had simply moved.

Between one beat and the next, he stood in front of Jinyoung, who startled back before steadying himself with a little laugh.

"Impressive," Jinyoung had said, still chuckling. His voice was deep and slightly raspy. Mark had tilted his head slowly, entranced at the sound. "Are all vampires this fast? Or just the ones from the United States?"

"Most are faster," Mark breathed, leaning even closer into Jinyoung's space. "What's your name?"

Mark had been very forward; _too_ forward. He rarely approached a human, and even more rarely asked for a dance. Jinyoung agreed, and that little smile on his lips should have been aggravating. He smiled as they danced close, his hand cupping the back of Mark's neck. The night had been a haze of alcohol and slow grinding, the solid heat of Jinyoung's body and the flavour of his mouth like heavy honey on Mark's lips. Then, that first bite, the one that so many had speculated over: they'd ended up in a shadowed corner, Jinyoung leaning against the wall, his eyes gleaming in the low light.

"You should bite me," he'd said in a breathless manner and Mark had laughed, incredulous.

"Should I?" he'd asked, even though his fingers had already been toying with the first button on Jinyoung's black shirt. "I could. I want to. But you have to give me permission."

"You can bite me," Jinyoung murmured, tilting his head to one side and exposing the line of his neck. Mark swiped the tip of his tongue against the points of both fangs, feeling them drop. He had kissed Jinyoung's skin, right over his pulse and then bit. He tasted the sweetness of the vodka cranberry drinks that Jinyoung had been consuming, and heard the low, breathless moans. Jinyoung had clutched Mark around the waist, holding him close even when Mark had drawn back and licked the bites so that they would begin to heal over.

Jinyoung said, "Take me to your place," and Mark did. Jaebum had been surprised but not worried when Mark had found him to say he was heading home. Mark knew that even as he got into a taxi with Jinyoung, Jaebum would drag the others into another vehicle and immediately follow him home.

Jaebum had done exactly that; Mark had heard them clatter into the house as he had been wrapped up with Jinyoung. Jaebum had done his duty. He'd made sure that Mark had remained safe. The rest of it? Well, that was all on Mark.

He slid out of the armchair, going onto his knees in front of his guards. He reached out to them, hesitating before resting his hands on their shoulders.

"There's nothing to forgive," Mark told them, haltingly. "It wasn't your fault. You did your best. I made a choice, and I'm going to deal with it."

"Not alone," Jaebum said, looking into Mark's face with a very solemn expression. "You have us, so we'll deal with it with you."

For a long moment, Mark didn't trust himself to speak. Yugyeom's eyes were shiny, and he blinked rapidly at Mark even as he smiled in a wobbly fashion. Mark smiled back, and squeezed their shoulders.

"Thank you," he said and stood up, helping them to their feet. He was about to say more, but his phone rang and he felt like the bottom of his stomach fell out. The ringtone was for one of the video-calling apps. Only his family called him using that method...or the Tribunal in the States.

He left the room and went into the small space that everyone called 'the office': a room no larger than a closet that had a desk and a surprisingly comfortable chair. Those who were still students used it if they really needed to get away from the rest of the noisy household. Mark closed the door and sat in the chair, pressing the icon to pick up the call.

"Hello," he said in English as soon as the screen resolved into an image of three individuals, the highest ranking officials in the Tribunal: the current Head, Roberta Scott, sitting in a high backed chair in flowing black and red robes, flanked on either side by Sheree Wallace and Jericho Kang. 

"Seventh Heir," Roberta spat. " _Please_ tell me that you haven't done what they've said you've done?"

"Roberta," Sheree murmured and gave the Head a warning look with her lovely dark eyes. The Head sneered at her but sat back, and Sheree turned back to Mark with a tight smile. Out of all of the Tribunal members, Mark trusted Sheree the most. She had always been in his corner.

"Mark, hello. How have you been?" she asked, very politely.

Mark answered, "Honorable Wallace, I am doing well. You must have heard that I took a mate, and this is true."

Sheree's face fell and she tried to rally back with a tight smile. "So we have heard. Not from one of the American clans?"

"No." Mark took a deep breath. "He is Korean...and he's not from any clan, as far as I know." There was very little that he knew about Jinyoung, but he wasn't going to share that with the Tribunal as yet. They would find out soon enough.

Jericho Kang tucked his long grey hair behind his large ears and spoke up in his reedy voice. "How could you do this? Human mates are _special_. We allowed you to go to Korea because you are the least of all the Heirs, but you are still expected to follow the conventions of our nation. We had already selected at least six human mates from approved clans for you to Court and Offer. Why--"

"You don't even know if this _Korean_ had the Ability?" Roberta boomed and Sheree glared at her again. "Or if he's even...some kind of Heir-chaser?"

Ice seemed to gather in Mark's chest at the idea, and his next words felt cramped as they emerged from his mouth: "He has the Ability. Jackson says he does."

"And Jackson would be able to pick that up," Sheree agreed. "But not you. You're still too young. You wouldn't have known."

_But I did know_ , Mark thought, folding his lips together so he wouldn't blurt this out. _I could sense him even before I knew his name_. The idea was preposterous, of course; how could he have known this if Jinyoung hadn't been aware himself? Besides, only Seers, elder vampires and Jackson would be able to know if a human possessed the Ability. Those humans who were born outside of a clan were adopted into one; if they were allowed to mature into their Ability without the support and protection of a clan, unscrupulous vampires would forcibly take them as a mate. 

Not to mention the fact that Mark had apparently undertaken a very truncated version of the bond-mate protocols. The whole process of Courtship, Offer and Acceptance served as protection for the humans, and vampires as well. If a vampire tried to take a human mate without proper and outright Acceptance on the part of the human, they would have an entire irate clan on their hands, willing and able to do physical damage to protect their clan-member. 

The last clan wars in the United States had been set off over a single human-mate called Lilia who had been snatched away without her consent by a vampire from the Aigrette clan. Her clan, the Chapelet, was one of the largest in Louisiana. They had come out en masse against the Aigrette, causing bodily harm, damage and death. The Aigrette were nearly wiped out completely and the entire vampire nation had been stunned. The human clans had not been apologetic either; they'd demanded proper behaviour from the vampires.

"We are the reason you live," they'd told the Tribunal. "And if pushed, we will be the reason you die."

Mark wondered if the human clans would see his bonding with Jinyoung as unlawful. How was it that he was not part of a clan, anyway? This contemplation was forced from his head as Roberta spoke up once more.

"We will present this case to the rest of the Tribunal," she said in her heavy, relentless voice. "We have yet to inform your parents, who no doubt will be quite displeased in your imprudent behaviour." 

_No, they won't_. Of this thought, Mark was completely sure. They would be surprised, yes, but they gave him far more credit than most of the Tribunal ever did. To the Tribunal, he was just the Seventh Heir. To his family, parents, siblings and their mates, he was a beloved son.

"We haven't informed the Queen," Sheree said and Mark forced himself to breathe. Queen Kamaria, the most powerful vampire in the nation, was not part of the bureaucratic Tribunal. A Vampire Queen or King these days were mostly figureheads, but their sheer power gave them quite a say in the happenings of the vampire world. Kamaria's clan had been part of the last wars, and because of the fallout she was now a firm supporter of the rights of human-mates. Mark had met her just once, when the Seven Heirs of the next generation had been chosen. She was very tiny, very beautiful and her entire aura had felt deadly.

"The Tribunal will deal with this." Roberta set her pointed nose in the air and sniffed in annoyance. "Wait for word from us."

"Take care of yourself, Mark," Sheree said just before the video-call ended. Mark sat there for a few long minutes, his head bowed. He felt jittery and unravelled; he actually jumped when his phone buzzed, clattering rudely against the surface of the desk.

It was a direct message from Jinyoung. _I would like to see you when you're available_. Such a simple, stilted line, and yet Mark was amazed at how his whole being felt as if it was flooded with light. 

_Alright. I'll find you_ , he typed out as a reply, because from this day on, he would never need anything but his own senses to locate Jinyoung. All he would have to do was concentrate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments/likes! I love to hear what you think so far!


	4. The night is still young (so are we)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Company pay a visit; plus a hefty dose of YugBam!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to Cureyourtemper for the beta of this chapter! Any mistakes there, it's because I was fiddling with it after she said 'I'm done!' It's still Saturday where I am, but since it's Christmas Sunday tomorrow, I don't know if I'll have time to post.
> 
> Happy Holidays! This chapter's title is from 'The Night Is Still Young' by Nicki Minaj.

"Is this a good idea?" Yugyeom whined when Mark told him and Jaebum that he wanted to go see Jinyoung. "The Council _just_ chewed Jaebum-hyung's ear off about this. And now you want to go _visit_ him?" Poor Yugyeom's face was pinched with dismay, and Mark gave him a very sympathetic smile.

"He's my mate," Mark said, yanking on a soft hoodie. Jaebum and Jackson had returned a few minutes ago from their classes at a nearby college, exclusive to vampires and humans with the Ability. BamBam had come in from work just before them, already changed into comfortable clothes. He was happily ensconced in his and Yugyeom's room, soft music filtering through the open door.

Jaebum looked up from where he'd been writing in his notebook on the couch, his eyebrows twitching slightly. He sighed, and set aside his book. "If you're going to see your mate, I'll accompany you."

Mark nodded. He had expected this. Even if he'd said no, Jaebum would have insisted.

"So will I," Yugyeom said, finishing the bowl of stew he had been eating. "Just give me a moment, hyung, I'll wash my hands."

"Yugyeom-ah, you've been on duty all day," Mark said, flapping one hand at the younger guard. "You don't have to--"

"If he's going, I'm going!" BamBam yelled over his music. "I have to change, though. I think I'll wear the pink shoes...wait, are we going to take a car?"

"We're going to walk!" Mark yelled back, hoping to dissuade any more company. "He's not too far."

"Youngjae wants to go," Jackson spoke up from where he'd been reviewing his own notes and squawked when Youngjae gave him a mighty slap on the chest.

"Stop doing that," he said, smiling as Jackson released gales of laughter. "I can talk for myself. And yes, I want to go."

Mark watched from the door as the rest of them trampled back and forth, arguing over whose shoes these really were, why was there a wad of tissue in these jeans, and was BamBam wearing Jackson's favourite black shirt? He was filled with a mix of exasperation and relief. Truth be told, he had really wanted their company, but had been very reluctant to ask; he thought he had put them through enough as it was. BamBam insisted on sporting some kind of faux-fur coat, ignoring Yugyeom's exclamations. 

Mark found himself in the middle of a chattering group of his friends, tromping along the wide sidewalk down the steep road from their home. It was nearly dusk, so all the vampires had the hoods of their jackets up to block the last of the silver-tinged sunlight, masks on their faces. BamBam also held a massive umbrella over Yugyeom's head, the intricately carved handle gripped tightly in one gloved hand...for additional extraness. 

There were stares, of course; a small pack of schoolkids skittered ahead, walking backwards to snap photos of them. Jaebum stalked directly in front of Mark, obviously at his most forbidding, but this did not stop the kids from calling out, "Oppa! You're so cute!"

"Go away," Jaebum growled at them. "You're all old folks. I'm not your big brother."

The schoolkids giggled and Mark ducked his head, even though his black face-mask covered his smile. Jaebum might be a formidable guard, but he could be a softie at times. Yugyeom brought up the rear, and when Mark glanced back, he could see young vampire's gaze scanning back and forth, watching the alleys and shopfronts carefully. All unwarranted, in Mark's opinion, but Jaebum took his orders from the Korean Council very seriously.

They strolled past the small college that nearly everyone in the house attended, except for BamBam, Mark and Yugyeom. BamBam didn't want to go because he was already very busy at his boutique, and he didn't want to be there without Yugyeom. The youngest vampire indicated that he was waiting on Jaebum-hyung to complete his current studies, so that at least one of Mark's guards would be close at hand. 

Mark didn't go to college because...well, Mark didn't go anywhere, really. The clubs were his most constant outing, but he didn't like to leave the security of his own home.

The entrance to the small college housed a large guardhouse, and a row of tiny but stern pine-trees. The guards in the house bowed in greeting as Mark and his entourage trooped past, their stares locking onto Mark as they offered him a deeper bow. Mark bowed in response, his ears warm from the attention.

He had told Jaebum that he was sure that Jinyoung attended the larger public university some blocks down from the college. However, he drew up short before they were halfway along the distance between the two schools, stopping so abruptly that Yugyeom walked into him.

"Mark-hyung," BamBam scolded. "Are your eyes in the wrong place or something?"

Mark paid him no mind, for Jinyoung was close. He could feel him like a shimmering wave, warm and reaching. 

"Over there," Jackson said, his voice soft. Mark was already facing the proper direction; across the street, Jinyoung stood close to a sidewalk cafe, sporting a long black scarf and an even longer coat. To Mark, he _shone_. Mark rather thought it was unfair that Jaebum, Youngjae and Jackson had left out this part about being bonded. Jinyoung was as bright to him as sunlight, with none of the pain.

"Wait--" Jaebum started, but Mark had already stepped into the road...without looking out for traffic. He heard the screech of a vehicle braking as it barreled towards him, and he leapt into the air to avoid it. It was simple for quite a few vampires to briefly affect the rate at which they fell; some elder vampires could make it appear as if they were flying. Mark floated down from the apex of his leap, the tail of his large jacket fluttering as he landed lightly in front of his mate.

Jinyoung seized him by the upper arms, grip like manacles. His expression seemed stunned and wild at the same time.

"Why didn't you look?" he demanded, actually shaking Mark a little. "You---that truck could have hit you!"

Mark blinked up at his reddening face. "But..it didn't?"

Jinyoung actually gritted his teeth and then pursed his lips. "I don't know how tough vampires really think they are, but you need to be more careful. Do you understand me?"

"Of course, I understand," Mark murmured, warm to the core. Jinyoung was so close to him, all around him...his mind floating alongside Mark's. Slowly, Jinyoung's grip on his arms loosened, even as the human's Ability tentatively nudged against Mark's perception, briefly taking the weight of it. Mark expected Jinyoung to pull away soon after and he did, both physically and psychically, but it was not as sudden as before. Their contact lingered, and Mark thought that when Jinyoung finally released him, there was a very reluctant air about it.

"Mark-hyung," Jaebum said from behind him, sounding very cross. "Don't do that again."

"I agree," Jinyoung said, shifting closer to Mark as the others gathered close. He looked at each of them, his gaze very open. "Hello, I'm Park Jinyoung." He offered a very polite bow to all.

"We remember," BamBam said, squinting one eye at him. "We met when you were naked--oww, Yugyeom, get your hoof off my shoe!"

"This is BamBam, and I'm his mate, Yugyeom," the young vampire offered, holding BamBam's hand as they bowed as one. Jinyoung's lips quirked as he dipped his head in greeting.

"Jackson and Youngjae, here!" Youngjae called out cheerfully. "The stormcloud over there is Jaebum-hyung. We three...well, we're all mates together."

"How interesting." Jinyoung's dark gaze tracked over Jackson's welcoming expression, Youngjae's bright smile and Jaebum's tight-lipped countenance. "A pleasure to meet you all."

"Why did you ask to see the Seventh Heir?" Jaebum snapped and one corner of Jinyoung's smile hooked onto something wry.

"I just...I really wanted to see him. Is that not allowed?"

"It's more than allowed!" Jackson boomed, but his normally bright nature seemed faded, as if a troubling thought had occurred to him just now. "Like, you need to be together all the time, you know? And you need to learn how to properly support him, you're not doing it right."

Jinyoung sighed. "Can I...can we sit down first? Have a coffee and just talk?"

Mark was certain that he meant just the two of them, but Jaebum jerked his chin at Yugyeom, and they moved a few more chairs to one of the large round tables until there was space for all seven of them. The streetlights lit all at once, and the cafe's lamps switched on one by one. As the others took their seat, Mark hesitated; he really wanted to sit next to Jinyoung, but he could feel the human's wariness. Jinyoung, already seated, looked up into his face and that cagey sense faded. He pulled out the chair beside him, patting the seat of it. Mark took the invitation so quickly that the chair nearly tumbled over backwards with him in it. 

Jinyoung grabbed onto the metal armrest, even though Mark had already corrected his fall. "I'm sure your guards are always on the alert, you're falling all over the place," he said in a scolding manner.

"Indeed," Jaebum said, his tone faux-weary. When Mark glowered in his direction, Jaebum gave him a squinty smile.

"It's not true," Mark countered, but Jinyoung pursed his lips, mockingly. Mark felt his ears get warm, for Jinyoung's eyes glittered with merriment. "It's _not_."

"I know, I know." Jinyoung patted Mark's closest arm soothingly, even though his whole air was one of great sarcasm. Mark kind of liked that, a lot. He smiled, and he must have been practically beaming as the server came to take their order. She was a young vampire and when Mark turned to look up at her, she blinked down at him, holding her writing pad close to her chest.

"Oh! Mark-oppa!" she blurted out, eyes round with recognition. Her gaze tracked around the table, and when it landed on Jinyoung, something subtle occurred in her expression: wary, and cold. She didn't say anything for quite some time; she just stared at Jinyoung, a red spark flaring in the very back of her eyes.

Mark took in Jinyoung's expression, which went from a sort of faint inquiry at the woman's weighted attention to a sharpened awareness. Despite his outwardly collected air, Mark sensed the inner roll of his emotions: uncertainty had begun to bubble through his thoughts. He reached out, meaning only to touch Jinyoung's fingers, but his mate grabbed onto his hand and held tightly, still looking right at the server.

Mark turned and gave Jaebum a very pointed look. Jaebum closed his eyes briefly and grimaced, as if he'd been poked in the side with a chopstick.

However, he did exactly as Mark had been silently requesting. "Are you taking our orders, miss?" he asked. His tone was very polite, but it was just as cold as the server's countenance. The red glow in his eyes glittered in the warm light from the nearby lamps. "Or will someone else be out to serve us?"

The server blinked rapidly. When Mark glanced at Jinyoung, he was looking up at her in a fixed manner, fingers curled loosely atop the table. His uncertainty had begun to drain away, the curiosity returning.

The server dipped into a shallow bow, the sweep of her form highly deferential. "I'll be taking your orders," she responded, voice low but firm. When she straightened again, her eyes were the usual dark colour, and her expression perfectly blank.

They gave their orders and she wrote them down with typical vampire speed, bobbing into another bow before sweeping off. Jinyoung blinked in her wake and then turned back with a bemused lift to his thick eyebrows.

Jackson started up some inane topic, dragging the others into a heated debate. Grateful for the diversion, Mark leaned towards Jinyoung, who responded in kind by tilting close as well. 

"How have you been feeling?" Mark murmured, allowing his gaze to track over the strong script of Jinyoung's jaw and cheek, punctuated by a few tiny moles. "Headaches? Feeling low?"

"Am I supposed to feel that way?" Jinyoung asked, looking at Mark out of the corner of his eye. It was such an amusingly sly thing to do, and Mark smiled at him. 

"For some human-mates, the psychic load can be a lot at first. Like a weird feedback."

Jinyoung considered, rocking his head from side to side. "I'm fine, mostly. I usually don't want people touching me, but I feel even more averse to it."

 _I don't want them touching you either_ , Mark thought with great fervency and Jinyoung's head snapped around. He gaped right in Mark's face, eyes round.

"I heard--"

"Here's our coffee!" Jackson crowed as the server returned. She balanced all their orders on a large tray with ease, and as Jinyoung was distracted by her deft distribution, Jackson pursed his lips at Mark, his face contorting in an urgent fashion.

Mark carefully lowered the special mental shields he had constructed specially for Jackson, taught by Jackson himself. Vampires and humans with the Ability could instinctively throw up blocks against him, but Jackson could slip around most of them with little effort or the awareness that he did so. To preserve all of their privacy, Jackson had instructed them on how to create what he called the layered mesh, which was _many_ tiers at once, with regular holes punched into each layer at varying locations: a multi-dimensional maze which would dissuade the sweeping touch of Jackson's Ability. "So I can hear if you need me to hear," he'd explained about that mental construct. "And I can't get to any secret stuff." 

Now, Mark received a great rush of questioning impressions and quite a few exclamatory thoughts. Mark sighed internally and filtered through most of the flood. The gist of the message was that Jackson had been asking if he was okay...and that he couldn't really pick up a lot from Jinyoung.

 _You can't?_ Mark asked, stunned into communicating directly to Jackson's mind. He felt Jaebum's and Youngjae's consciousness swing towards their connection. _Sorry, I'll talk aloud--_

 _It's fine,_ Jackson returned, and Mark was keenly aware that he was sending it in the quietest way he could manage. If Jackson decided to scream at the very top of his psychic voice, he would probably fracture the minds of his two mates, and incapacitate humans and other vampires in a massive radius. Not for the first time, Mark was grateful for Jackson's vigorous control. _He's the first person that I ever met that I can't pick up like normal. Well…_

 _Well, what?_ Jaebum snapped and Mark startled a little. He'd never heard Jaebum's mental voice so strongly before. Vampires sensed each other psychically, but it was very faint, almost like hearing the television in a neighbour's house. Through Jackson, Jaebum was as clear as if he spoke aloud. That inner voice also had a metallic aspect, brittle and ringing. _What do you mean, you can't pick him up like normal?_

 _Can I show you?_ _Hard to explain with words_ , Jackson waited until he got an affirmative from all of them and then--

\--and then Mark stood on an ocean, the soles of his shoes turning dark as they got wet. Jackson, Youngjae and Jaebum balanced nearby, gazing around. The water was very still and very clear. He could see the sandy floor many miles below, and the strong light glinted off the scales of huge schools of fish swimming in the water below their feet. These were _people_ to Jackson, Mark realised. Millions of them, so close...so _many_.

 _Are we just fish to you_? Youngjae asked, fairly cackling in his amusement. His mental voice had a deep, earthy feel. _Fish!_

 _No! This is the easiest way I can make you understand_ , Jackson shot back. _Be quiet, you! Hyung...look_.

Mark looked to where Jackson pointed. So far below, one solitary creature lurked at the bottom of the ocean. It did not swim with the others, and it did not shine in the sun. He could see it, but there was nothing defined about the shape, or the striations on its scales, or how its fins were arranged. For all the other fish, these characteristics were distinct.

 _That's how he is to me_ , Jackson said, but even as he spoke, the solitary creature moved. It swam a little way, and a beam of light fell across its body. 

In an instant, Mark stood at the bottom of that ocean, face to face with the fish that not even Jackson could detect properly. Mark, however, saw the diaphanous fins and the bulbous eyes, the white-and-brown markings. Every detail was perfectly apparent.

 _Mark-hyung?_ A distant voice called to him, threaded with panic. The fish ventured close, fins fluttering like silk. _Where have you gone?_

 _I'm here_.

All the water flew upwards with a roar. Darkness rushed in, thick and comforting like a favourite blanket. There was nothing left but Mark and the lovely fish, shining like a full moon. Mark reached out, letting one of those gauzy fins trail over his fingers.

 _How am I doing this_? Jinyoung's voice echoed from the fish's body, filled with wonder. _Where are we?_

 _We're together,_ Mark told him, because it was the only truth that mattered.

Something grabbed at Mark, gripping him around the throat and torso and _hauling._ Mark flew back, but the fish followed at once. Its body undulated furiously as it kept pace with his increasing speed.

He burst into the dusk of reality, the chair and sidewalk a stark distinction from the ocean of Jackson's mind, and that soft nothingness which had come after. The air was crisp and the cup of coffee was warm against his palm. When had he picked it up? He looked around, blinking.

BamBam and Yugyeom chatted to each other, oblivious to Mark's disorientation. Whatever had just transpired, it had done so in just seconds. For Mark, it had felt like minutes spiraling into hours. Jackson's expression was so austere that it was almost comical, while Jaebum and Youngjae seemed as dazed as Mark.

"I lost you," Jackson muttered, still scowling. "I can't believe I _lost you_." He gave Jinyoung a hard glare.

"What are you talking about?" Yugyeom looked around at them, his head tilted in curiosity.

"How did you do that?" Jackson demanded of Jinyoung, paying no mind to Yugyeom's question. "I couldn't see _you_ clearly and then you took him to where I couldn't find him. I had to search, _hard_. And _then_ I had to drag him out of...out of wherever that was. How?"

"I don't know," Jinyoung hissed back, leaning over his own cup and glaring back at Jackson. "I really don't. This is the first time I've ever experienced that. And you didn't have to pull him that way. He's safe with me." Jinyoung paused, clearly surprised at what was coming out of his own mouth.

Mark stared at the side of his face. Yes...he was safe. Finally, Jinyoung's mind was now fully wrapped around his, drifting alongside him as delicately as the fish had been. That soft darkness which they'd been in, it was here too, a secure space in the very center of his mind. Jinyoung's support did not shift away and Mark slowly allowed himself to relax into that intimate cradle.

The frown cleared off Jackson's face with dramatic speed. "Well, why didn't you say so? He's safe," he told Jaebum very officiously. Jaebum rolled his eyes, but there was a pinched, guarded cast to his expression.

"What are you all talking about?" BamBam cut through, his accent thickening with impatience. "Jackson-hyung, you ignored Yugyeom just now, do you know that?"

"Sorry! Uh, sorry!"

As Jackson offered profuse apologies, Jinyoung glanced over at Mark. His ears were red, but his lips were set firmly. 

Jinyoung swallowed and Mark tracked the movement of his throat. "I don't know if I'm doing this right. I could hurt you...isn't that so?"

"Of course you could!" BamBam exclaimed. Youngjae muttered something under his breath, but was completely ignored. "That's why mates get training, you know. You could damage both of your minds if you don't keep him in proper balance."

Mark rather thought that Jinyoung was doing well so far, despite BamBam's insistence on his untrained state. Still, BamBam might have a point. Jinyoung might feel more supportive now, but there were some places that felt rough, rasping at the edges.

Jinyoung sipped his coffee and then said, "I suppose I could ask the former highest ranking debutant from Thailand to help with my training?"

It was such obvious trap, made of sheer flattery. BamBam fell right into it with greedy willingness. "Oh, you've read about me, I see." He tossed his head, releasing a self-satisfied sigh. "Did you read about how Yugyeom Offered for me?" If there was one thing BamBam loved talking about more than himself, it was Yugyeom. It was one of the more endearing things about him.

"No," Jinyoung said, hiding his smile behind the rim of his cup. "I saw no article on that, unfortunately."

"Oh no," Yugyeom muttered. He ducked his head down, trying to curl into a small shape, with very little success. Everyone else sighed.

"Here we go," Youngjae told Jinyoung. " _You_ set him off, I want you to remember that."

"Shush!" BamBam flapped his hands, eager to tell his favourite story. "I had _two_ debut parties, you know. Nearly all debutants just have one--"

"--because your clan spoiled you," Jaebum cut in. "Anything you wanted, you got."

BamBam's expression was nonplussed. "But of course. Anyway, at my _first_ debut, I had hundreds of vampires Courting me, so many high-ranking clans. And Yugyeom was there!"

"I wasn't there to Court or anything," Yugyeom grumbled. "I didn't have anything to Offer. Some of my friends said I could go with them, so I did. But if I could have Courted Bam...I would have." He cringed as Jackson and Youngjae did their unified shriek of delight.

"He was dancing by himself in the corner." BamBam's gaze became distant, transported back to the memory of his first party and a tall vampire moving to music. "I told the Head Matriarch that I wasn't ready to choose and she was _so very_ upset. All those Courtship gifts to return!" BamBam tossed his head back and laughed in his hoarse way.

Yugyeom watched him laugh, his eyes shining. "He came up to me and said I should come to his next debut party. And he said that I should Court and Offer. I told him I had nothing. My clan doesn't have much rank. I didn't have money, or gifts… my hands were empty."

"They weren't." BamBam looked into Yugyeom's face, his smile very gentle. "I told you to just ask me. Offer anything, and I would say yes."

Yugyeom's blush was in full force. "So I said I would Offer him myself."

Jackson and Youngjae screeched again, clutching at each other. Jaebum buried his face in his hands, but his shoulders shook with laughter. BamBam ignored them to just consider Yugyeom, who looked back at him with a shy smile.

"He Courted me over the phone for a whole year." BamBam chuckled. "It was the weirdest ever in the history of my clan. I think four of the patriarchs and two matriarchs cried."

"That's really nice," Jinyoung said, watching them with a little smile. "Thanks for sharing it with me."

"I can teach you, hyung, easy." BamBam beamed at Jinyoung, and Mark stared at him in surprise. Usually BamBam kept people at arm's length for some time until he decided if he liked them...then he would be hard to pry off. When he glanced over at Jinyoung, the human seemed very pleased with himself. 

"Come home with us," he blurted out. "With me. Tonight."

Jinyoung licked his lips. "I...I have classes tomorrow."

"We can pick up some of your things from your dorm...I'll bring you back to the University as early as you want tomorrow," Mark promised. _I just want to touch you_.

Jinyoung's cheeks and ears went red again, but he nodded.

"Um, hyung?" Jackson cleared his throat. "You're going to want to put up your shields again. So...like, I don't hear stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?" Yugyeom asked, and when BamBam whispered in his ear, his entire visage became completely scandalized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fish manifestation of Jinyoung in Jackson's mental landscape is based on a Butterfly Telescope goldfish! aaahhh so pretttyyyy
> 
> Hope you're enjoying so far! Please leave comments/likes/kudos, they make my day!
> 
> I will try to post every Sunday!


	5. But do you got room for one more (troubled soul)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinyoung has some questions...and some doubts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to cureyourtemper for the beta! This title is from Fall Out Boy's 'Alone Together'. 
> 
> I'm sorry for the long break! Life, it got in the way. But I should be back on my Sunday posting schedule.

Jinyoung's dormitory was to the back of the campus, a four-storey concrete structure with a stack of narrow balconies. Mark managed to convince Jaebum and the others to remain in the third floor living area while he went with his mate.

"Ten minutes," Jaebum warned him, lurking in shadows under the wall-mounted television. Jackson, Youngjae and Yugyeom sat on one of the flower-patterned sofas, staring up at the TV as if they didn't have one at home. BamBam had been corralled by a group of boys in a corner, listening to their questions with pursed lips before doling out advice about stylistic choices.

"Okay," Mark repeated. "Ten minutes."

Jaebum narrowed his eyes. "If I don't see you coming back by then, Yugyeomie and I are going in after you."

"I'm just following him to his room," Mark pointed out. "It's not a drugs raid."

"Ten. Minutes." Jaebum insisted, pointing an index finger in what he obviously thought was a stern manner. Mark rolled his eyes and trailed after Jinyoung down the wide corridor.

Two young men, Jinyoung's roommates, looked up when Jinyoung opened his room door. 

"Kwansoo, Jae-eun, this is Mark-hyung." Jinyoung indicated Mark with a twirl of one hand, then went over to one of the closets. The roommates stood and bowed. They both went back to what they were doing, but the one who had been on his bed going through his phone, Jae-eun, continued to stare at Mark as he reclined against his pillows.

Jae-eun spoke up. "Mark-hyung? You're Mark Tuan, right? Tuan Yi-en?"

Mark nodded and Jae-eun's eyebrows lifted in his slender face. 

"You're that American vampire?" Kwansoo asked, looking up from his stack of books atop the small desk. His face was puffy from a distinct lack of sleep.

"I am," Mark confirmed and said nothing else even though they both wore extremely expectant expressions. He could wait them out, though. Jackson always said that Mark's stubbornness was most on display when he didn't feel like talking….which was quite a lot of the time.

"Okay," Jae-eun said after the silence went on for maybe twenty beats too long. He glanced over to where Jinyoung was placing a neatly folded shirt into a small bag, and frowned. "Where are _you_ going?"

Jinyoung zipped his bag shut and replied: "I'm spending the night at Mark-hyung's place. I'll be back tomorrow." He might have sounded calm to the point of careless, but Mark read his jittery eagerness as if it was a ten-foot banner on the walls. He ducked his head, hoping to hide his wide grin.

"Just like that?!" Kwansoo's tone spiralled upwards with astonishment. "Did you finish reviewing for your quiz tomorrow?"

"Of course I did," Jinyoung replied, nose wrinkling as he reopened his bag, the zip rasping in the sudden silence. He rummaged through it, seemingly unaware of the way Jae-eun slanted a quick frown in Mark's direction. Kwansoo was far more demonstrative; he got up out of his chair and walked over to Jinyoung. He grabbed Jinyoung's closest elbow and Jinyoung reacted immediately, yanking out of his grip. Mark, for his part, uncurled his fists: he had clenched them so tightly that he could feel the imprint of his fingernails in his palms.

"Please don't touch me," Jinyoung muttered, spots of colour high on his cheeks.

"What is wrong with you?" Kwansoo asked, leaning in close. Mark leaned against the wall next to the door, mostly to prevent himself from rushing over and shoving Jinyoung's roommate away. "This isn't like you, Jinyoung."

He continued in a bare whisper, but Mark's ears picked up every syllable. He felt something in his chest clench at Kwansoo's next words: "Jinyoung...maybe he has you under some kind of mind control?"

 _That's not true_! Mark wanted to scream, but he pressed his lips together and kept the shout locked tightly in his throat. He would not waste any time explaining himself to a non-Ability human. Jinyoung blinked down at Kwansoo and said, "Oh, but he doesn't," with simplistic, nearly innocent confidence.

Kwansoo drew back. Mark could only see the back of his head, but his bemused concern hovered around him like a mantle. On one hand, Mark felt he should be grateful that Jinyoung had such attentive friends, but on the other, he was annoyed at the implication that he was, somehow, harming his mate. 

"Jinyoung-ah," he called out, gently. "Let's go."

Jinyoung nodded. "Don't worry too much about me," he said as he stepped around Kwansoo, giving him a very light pat on the arm, barely touching the material of his room-mate's white t-shirt. Mark opened the door and walked out into the hallway, nearly colliding with Jaebum.

"Eight minutes have passed," Jaebum informed him darkly. Behind him, Yugyeom gazed past Mark into Jinyoung's room. Mark glanced over his shoulder; both of Jinyoung's roommates were just inside the threshold, staring out at the two guardian vampires. Jaebum in particular now sported his best dangerous air, brow and eyes cast in shadow. It was very effective, especially for those who did not know that Jaebum could be easily coaxed to extreme silliness by Jackson and Youngjae.

"We've called two taxis, Seventh Heir," Yugyeom informed Mark in a very officious manner. Mark stared at him, and detected the mischievous red twinkle in Yugyeom's eyes; Mark felt his own surprised expression melt into exasperation, for Yugyeom never addressed him in such a manner. He was just doing this for show, which was simultaneously amusing and annoying. When Mark glanced at Jinyoung's roommates once more, their overall suspicious demeanour had become stunned.

"Thank you," he said to his amused guard. The cars were downstairs by the time they exited the glass front doors of the dorms; Mark, Jinyoung, Jaebum and Youngjae stuffed themselves into one, the remaining three in the other vehicle. Jinyoung was tucked up right against Mark's side, warm and solid. His mind cupped Mark's in an encompassing but overly careful manner. 

Mark tried his best not to move for that whole journey home. He was very good at keeping still and quiet, even though he sometimes had what Jackson called 'Hyung Wild-out Time'. Jinyoung's presence was like a layer of soft feathers and he felt no need for extraneous movement at the moment. 

The two cars stopped briefly to pick up some food for BamBam and Jackson, and when they finally got home, BamBam offered Jinyoung a meal.

"I ate before I got to the cafe," Jinyoung tried to explain with a surprised laugh, but BamBam would hear nothing of it.

"Come, hyung," he commanded in his bossy way, pulling out a set of mismatched plates and arranging them on the long table that dominated the dining room. "Eat with us. Jackson and I will teach you some stuff too, if you like."

"Well...that sounds good," Jinyoung said. "But, Mark-hyung--?"

"Go ahead," Mark answered, even though he wanted nothing more than to drag Jinyoung away and kiss him senseless. "I'll be in my room."

Jinyoung's eyes glittered at him, obviously picking up the want in Mark's thoughts. Mark turned away, keeping his hands clenched in the pocket of his overlarge jacket in an attempt to control himself. Alone in his room, he took a quick shower and dressed in his favourite soft clothing: a long-sleeved shirt and loose grey sweatpants.

He was scrolling through his phone when Jinyoung's voice floated down into his mind.

... _Mark-hyung_.

"Mm," Mark answered out loud, reflexively, before he realised that Jinyoung was nowhere near him at the moment. _Jinyoung-ah?_

 _Oh! There you are_. Jinyoung's mental voice almost as deep as his speaking one. _That was easier than I thought. But you sound faint now. You spoke directly to me at the cafe, and it was very strong_.

 _Was I loud then_? Mark wondered and Jinyoung sent back the psychic equivalent of a nod; more than likely, he was out in the dining area, head dipping. _Ah, sorry. Vampires are generally more natural at it than humans, but humans get better with practice._

_Oh._

There was a long pause, and Mark assumed that Jinyoung was receiving more coaching from BamBam and Jackson. Now and again, a curious flare would emanate from Jinyoung; most were tenderly warm, like candlelight. There was one that felt like a sharp skewer, a laser in the dark, and Mark actually yelped in pain.

 _Sorry! Sorry!_ Jinyoung wrapped tightly around him, comforting and apologetic. _Jackson showed me that, I'm sorry_.

 _It's okay_ , Mark sent back. _I'm glad you're learning to take care of me_.

Jinyoung's blush bloomed through their linked minds. _I've never taken care of anyone before. Not sure if I'm doing it right_. _Do vampires not eat?_

Mark blinked, thrown by the sudden question. _Eat?_

 _You didn't eat any of the food here. It's delicious_. Jinyoung had taken on a slightly haranguing tone. _Don't you need...to feed? On me, that is_?

Laughter burst from Mark's lips and he covered his mouth. Jinyoung felt very offended, almost pouting at Mark.

 _No….we're not like Ancients that way._ He sent Jinyoung images that all vampires of his generation had grown with: scientists of the nation working to quell that wild thirst, developing dietary supplements which slaked the need to drink blood from living beings. _We don't need to depend on humans like that anymore. We can eat normal food, anyway, but we don't get hungry as much you do. It's more important for us these days to not go crazy with age._

_But...you drank from me. At the club._

Mark kept smiling at him. _I bit you, yes. Vampires still like biting. It's very instinctual for us. But I didn't drink too much._

 _Did I taste good, hyung_? Jinyoung suddenly felt humid, settling even closer into Mark's mind. _You must have a preference. Did you like how I tasted?_

 _I…_ Mark felt his whole body go warm. _Jinyoung-ah--_

 _I liked you biting me_ , Jinyoung continued blithely, because he was obviously very cruel and Mark was a weak, weak vampire. _It felt good. Jackson is asking about how I manifested my Ability?_

_...uhhhh--_

_I remember being sick once, when I was young_ , Jinyoung mused. _I thought I was seeing things and hearing voices. Maybe...that was it? Mark-hyung, what do you think?_

 _Jinyoung-ah_. Mark hoped he didn't sound _too_ pleading. _Please. Come here_.

_All right._

Mark took a few deep breaths and then leapt out of bed. He sprinted to his door and pulled it open, on the other side, Jinyoung had been reaching for the handle, his arm outstretched. Mark took his hand and tugged him inside. He closed the door and then pushed Jinyoung against it, leaning in.

"Are all bonds sexual?" Jinyoung asked, just before their lips touched.

Mark drew back. He stared at his mate's tranquil expression, and then carefully removed his hands from where they had been clutching Jinyoung's broad shoulders. He stilled his inner self as much as possible, holding himself carefully in the safe embrace of Jinyoung's mind. A general willingness emanated from Jinyoung, but there was a small, murky core, steeped in reservations.

Mark said, "There are many platonic bonds. My parents are both vampires." He smiled when Jinyoung tilted his head, eyebrows quirking up in curiosity. "They had their bond-mates before they met. In the States, bonds are more like a business deal than anything else. That's what it feels like to me." He bit his lower lip, feeling a thrill as Jinyoung's gaze dropped briefly to the movement. "Here, it's...different."

He thought there would something else, another question, so he was surprised when Jinyoung leaned forward and kissed him. Mark pressed forward for a moment, so eager, but Jinyoung pulled away with a sharp twisting movement of his head. His mouth was very red and his eyes wide and dark.

So, when Jinyoung bent forward to try again, Mark didn't move much. He simply placed one hand against the side of Jinyoung's neck, the pulse strong against his palm. He let Jinyoung explore his lips and mouth, parting his lips to give him more. 

Jinyoung plucked at the hem of Mark's shirt, soft sounds falling between their lips as he pulled the garment up Mark's chest. Mark tugged his arms out of the sleeves and they managed to part a little so that Jinyoung could pull the shirt over his head. Jinyoung's hands were hot on the skin of Mark's waist, roaming restlessly. 

Mark broke their kiss and tilted his head back, gazing into Jinyoung's face. There was quite a bit of desire inscribed in angles of his cheek and jaw, and yet---

"We don't have to," Mark told him. "If you don't want to."

Jinyoung blinked at him. "What?"

Mark just looked at him for a very long time, and something sagged in Jinyoung's expression. "It's not just sexual for me," Mark finally said, hearing the slight reproach in his own voice. "I _need_ you. I'll need you for a long time."

A low sigh wound its way between Jinyoung's kiss-plump lips. "How are you so sure about me? You don't even know why Jackson says I'm different."

 _I'm sure here_ , Mark told him without speaking aloud, tapping his own temple. _I'm sure here._ He pressed his palm flat against his bare chest and then touched Jinyoung's clothed one. His mate sighed again, and it was a weary, worried sound. He leaned forward again, but simply rested his forehead against Mark's.

"When I saw you at the club," he whispered, "all I could think of was that you were so unreal. And then you looked at me and I couldn't think of anything else. I just didn't expect all this."

Quickly, bright images tumbled through his mind and Mark picked them up quite easily: an array of flowers, an army of folded chairs angled towards a woven arch, fancy plates beside a spread of fancy food...well-pressed suits. A wedding. 

"It's not really like a marriage," Mark said, startled into a smile. "Not the way humans think."

"It's a marriage to me," Jinyoung answered, his own tone gloomy enough to wipe the humour off Mark's face. "And I expected to choose my own partner."

His anger was sudden and strong, like a random tornado. Mark remained safe in the eye of the storm, but the winds railed around him worryingly. He reached out, wrapped his arms around his mate and pulled him close. Jinyoung's heartbeat thudded against Mark's sensitive hearing.

"I'm sorry it happened the way it did," Mark whispered right in his ear. "And I'm sorry that you feel trapped." He couldn't say that he would go back if he could, and change everything. That was an outright lie, and as his mate, Jinyoung would pick up on it easily.

The tempest died down to sweet, pliable winds. Jinyoung kissed his cheek, just as endearing. "No," he said. "I'm not trapped." He slid his hands down Mark's back and grabbed his ass, lifting him up. Mark laughed, delighted, as he wrapped his legs around Jinyoung's waist and was carried to his bed. When he was dumped on his soft mattress, he scrambled back towards the headboard. Jinyoung crawled after him, eyes gleaming.

Mark allowed his wrists to be pinned to the bed as Jinyoung hovered over him; they both knew that Mark could easily pull out of Jinyoung's grip, even toss him across the room if necessary, but he enjoyed being trapped under his mate, being considered like a particularly tasty meal.

"I'm not trapped," Jinyoung repeated. "But you are."

"What are you going to do with me?" Mark breathed, putting up a show of struggling.

Jinyoung said, "Anything I want," and bent close to claim his mouth again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments/likes! I love to hear what you think! I read every single one and appreciate your awesome support. Thank you! 
> 
> If you want a direct answer, ummm. I dunno. Just ask! I will definitely answer to the best of my ability.


	6. Doesn't mean our brains will change (from hand-grenades)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinyoung leaves for school...and comes back in a frightening state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to cureyourtemper for the beta! Any mistakes are because I was messing with it AFTER my beta looked at it.
> 
> Please forgive the long breaks between chapters. Life and work, you know how it do. But I WILL finish this, and I post on Sundays. Subscribe to this to get alerted as to when it's updated!
> 
> This chapter's title is from Heathens by twenty one pilots (or TWENTY ØNE PILØTS if you rather)
> 
> Oh please note that the smut content in this is not very high. I mean, there IS smut ok but it's not very explicit...I think.

Jinyoung lay in the circle of Mark's arms, his breathing long and slow in deep sleep. His taller body curled close so his forehead pressed in the curve of Mark's neck. Jinyoung was broader in the shoulders, but Mark sensed the inherent human frailness in him, the way his bones felt too brittle under that beautiful skin. Vampire bones were different: tough, diamond-hard. Vampire hearts? Mark wondered if they were just as durable. At this point, he doubted it.

Mark held him close, and at one moment dared to sweep the limp fringes of sweat-damp hair from Jinyoung's forehead. His hand trailed down the line of Jinyoung's neck, pausing to feel the rhythmic thump of pulse under palm.

Last night, Jinyoung had alternated from a wild, almost frantic need for Mark's body to a heartbreaking gentleness. Mark had given him everything he had asked for. Jinyoung really couldn't _hurt_ him, not physically at least. However, when he was deep inside, looking right into Mark's eyes as they moved together, a sort of pain had taken up residence in Mark's chest, heavy and full of consequences.

Even now, Mark felt the steadiness of Jinyoung's mind, how it enveloped his with an increasing confidence. Their lives were coiled up in each other's now, and Jinyoung's lifespan would be extended because he was Mark's bond-mate. They would be long-lived, together...or apart.

There; that _pain_ again, twisting in the cage of Mark's ribs. He shifted his hand from Jinyoung's hair and tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. He felt Jinyoung shifting from dreamless slumber to wakefulness even before his eyelids flickered open.

He regarded Mark with sleepy confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice rough. Mark remembered Jinyoung's head bobbing slowly between his splayed legs and smiled at the recollection, even as he tried to blink away the wetness from his eyes. 

"I don't know," he answered, for that was the truth. "I was just...thinking of you."

"Thinking of me made you upset? Why?" Jinyoung sat up, his heavy fringe of hair falling into his eyes again. Mark tried to help push it back, but it just slipped into place once more, strands glossy-dark as a crow's wing. 

Carefully, Mark gathered all his fretful thoughts and prepared to place them behind a secure mental barrier. Only Jackson would be able to dig them up, and Jackson had a very strong sense of other people's privacy; he wouldn't rummage through Mark's mind like that. In addition, despite his growing ease, Jinyoung was still very new to all this. More than likely, he was not yet able to sense any untruthfulness from his vampire-mate. 

Once, Mark had watched BamBam catch Yugyeom in an outright lie. Bam's face had gone from his usual suave nonchalance to an expression that was completely stricken: eyes wide, his lips parted in a stunned manner. Then, they'd pressed together in a fine, hard line. He'd clenched his fists and then simply stepped around Yugyeom, ignoring his pleading and marching off to their room. They didn't speak aloud to each other for four whole days, even though Mark was well aware that they had been probably communicating mentally. Sometimes, Jackson would flinch and then stare accusingly at one or the other, as if the offending person had shrieked in his ear.

Jinyoung was no BamBam as yet, nor would he ever be like Jackson. Mark packed away his worries, formless for now.

"I wasn't upset. I was just…." _emotional_ , he finished in his mind, but there were so many layers packed on to that one last word. So much hope and want. Jinyoung smiled down at him, the corners of his eyes wrinkling adorably.

"You seem like an emotional person." He stroked Mark's hair and then his fingers glided over Mark's jaw, tickling down his neck and onto his chest. "You feel so much."

"Humans say that vampires don't feel," Mark told him, enjoying the quick, sliding sensation of Jinyoung's hand. "That we don't understand what emotions are."

Jinyoung shook his head slowly, his smile still apparent but slightly wry now. "A few weeks ago, maybe I would have agreed with other humans. But now…"

He shuffled close, obviously angling for a kiss; they both groaned in annoyance as a loud beep broke the soft dark of Mark's bedroom. Jinyoung reached over Mark and retrieved his phone, the screen bright with the alarm app.

"I have classes early this morning," Jinyoung said, regret shading every word and tinging his thoughts.

"Your quiz," Mark reminded him and received another twinkly-eyed grin for his troubles. "You'll do great, I'm sure."

"Oh." Jinyoung's cheeks were now suffused with a blush. He did bestow that kiss just then, his mouth soft against Mark's lips. He must have had morning breath; so did Mark, but he didn't care and he didn't notice at all. Kissing him was wonderful. 

Pulling away was terrible; Mark did not recommend it at all. "You have to go," he murmured, pushing at Jinyoung's bare shoulders. "I don't want you to be late for your quiz."

His mate huffed, but wriggled out from underneath the sheets. Jinyoung went into Mark's bathroom, flicking on the light; Mark's sharp hearing picked up the sounds of teeth being brushed, face washed, a comb arranging that dark hair. Jinyoung emerged, dressed in a long-sleeved dark shirt and jeans that clung to every long line of his legs.

He came back to sit down on the edge of Mark's bed, reaching out and grasping the vampire's fingers to lightly play with them. "I'll be back in the afternoon, if you--"

"Yes," Mark told him. "I'd like that."

Jinyoung departed a few moments after, but the sweet expression on his face stayed with Mark every moment of the morning; in his shower, and as he ate breakfast. He wandered through his home, going from one group of his house-mates to another. Finally, he ended up with Jaebum on the couch. Jaebum flipped open one book and then seized another, muttering to himself and typing notes on a tablet. 

Mark considered going on his phone and working his way through his social media sites, but hesitated. Jinyoung was obviously very bright. There was probably so much he knew, about... _school stuff_. Mark had been taken out of the traditional school system in the middle of his teens and sent to a special academy with the other Heirs...just a few years, but packed with studies on the history, politics and protocol of the American vampire nation. He had even been educated on the systems of other large vampire communities. Most of this information had fled from his brain, and Mark had made no attempt to continue after he'd arrived in Korea.

...but maybe he should. He was quiet, he knew that, sometimes annoyingly so. It would be nice to have something to talk about with someone as studious as Jinyoung.

"What are you reading, JB?" he ventured to ask, well aware of how grumpy the guardian vampire could be when he was deep in his studies. Jaebum released a grunt and glanced up. He tapped the book he currently perused with one finger.

"This one's a history of the all the Ability clans in the southeast area of the country, hyung," Jaebum answered. "There's some information in here that might help us find out more about your mate."

"Oh," Mark said softly. The southeast; Jinyoung had said that he had family roots in that region.

Jaebum hummed and shrugged. He had gone back to gazing at the pages, but then set that book aside in a few moments to focus on another. Mark picked up the discarded tome, picking his way through the archaic spelling. Surprisingly, after a few moments he became absorbed in the detailed descriptions of Ability clan life. The book even dropped some salacious gossip of the day, causing Mark to smirk. 

About an hour into his impromptu study session, he got to a chapter that Jaebum had marked with a piece of yellow sticky paper.

"Jaebum."

"Hmm?" Jaebum looked up again, his hand hovering over his tablet.

"This says that there was once a huge Ability clan in one of the districts." Mark traced the words, feeling a frown build between his eyebrows. "They were known for producing some of the most talented Ability-humans, but then...the clan perished overnight. No survivors."

"Yeah." Jaebum lifted his shoulders in a slow shrug. "That's why I left the marker there. I can access the Council's central database with my credentials and try to find more detailed records. I don't know if it's much of a lead, though.That book seemed pretty clear."

Mark took a few deep breaths, still frowning down at the book. He read on:

>   
>  _The first Jinhae-gu Clan was known for producing a very high number of Ability-humans able to channel their power in a manner which affected the physical world. The Jinhae-gu clan was an anomaly even at a global level; Ability-humans with this additional factor are already considered a rarity in most parts of the world. The Union of Human Ability Clans in the United States of America has listed sixteen of these individuals in their entire historical record._
> 
> _The mysterious decimation of Jinhae-gu clan completely removed any trace of those with this additional aptitude in the country. Since then, no other clan has produced anyone with enough manifestation of their Ability to be classified under the anachronistic but still well-used term of 'witch'._
> 
> _After the gory destruction of the original clan, there was only one disturbing clue as to the source of their demise: more than one individual had written on the nearest surface, in their own blood, the following characters:_
> 
> _THE BREAKER_
> 
> _No one has been able to adequately explain what 'The Breaker' had been, not even the denizens of the new, smaller Jinhae-gu clan which had grown to replace its precursor; it is, of course, safe to say that this event had thoroughly removed what was considered one of the most influential clans in the country._

Witches; the psychokinetics, they were called these days. The Tribunal back home had records of those Ability-humans with that extra aspect to their power, and Mark was sure that there were more than the sixteen claimed by this relatively old book. These individuals had a special sub-group for themselves in the Ability nation. Unlike Jackson, whose tremendous and singular Ability had been classified as _passive/receiving_ (not quite accurate, Mark opined; this was actually a source of contention for quite a few of the nation's scientists), the witches were listed as _active/projecting_ : their Ability affecting the physical world. A few of them were highly unstable, unable to properly control their gift. Mark had never met a single one.

"Mark-hyung," Jackson said from beside him and Mark jumped. He had gone from that strange tale on to other records of clans in the southeast, although no other chapter had captured his imagination like that of the Jinhae-gu. He turned to scold Jackson, but the words dried up in his mouth at the worried expression, so alien, on Jackson's face.

"Look." Jackson held up his phone close to Mark's face; Mark, not having such horrid vision as Jackson did, grasped his hand by the wrist and pulled away the phone to a more readable distance.

Jackson had apparently been perusing a Korean website for those with the Ability; clan members, mostly and a few non-Ability supporters who were well aware of the connection between clans and the vampires. The latest post was strident in its accusations: _AMERICAN SEVENTH HEIR TOOK AN UNTRAINED MATE...THROUGH THRALL?_

A sickening, plummeting sensation occurred in Mark's stomach. Of course they would have found out that Jinyoung did not belong to a clan, which easily indicated his untrained state. To those with the Ability, to those who grew up protected by their clan, Jinyoung was defenseless. He hadn't been too worried before, but he should have been.

"You didn't put him under thrall," Jackson said. "I've felt someone under thrall before; it feels... _slimy_. What you have with Jinyoung is nothing like that. It's good."

Mark nodded, unable to speak past the tightness in his throat and chest.

"But we need to be more alert, I think," Jackson said, and out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw Jaebum nodding. "The Ability-clans are really serious about stuff like this."

"I know," Mark answered in a low voice, and nibbled on the inside of his lower lip. He felt more than saw Jackson's sympathetic glance, before he took hold of Jaebum's book again and tried to read. Time spooled away so slowly, but Mark stuck to his task with grim determination.

A text caused his phone to ping, and he fished it out of the pocket of his hoodie, smiling at Jinyoung's message.

_Coming back. Stopping for food. Should I pick up something for the others?_

"Jinyoung's stopping for food," Mark called out to the household in general. "Anyone want anything?" He wrinkled his nose at the shrieking response, the ruckus eventually resolving into Jackson and BamBam apparently being _starved to death_ and just because vampires didn't have to eat as much as humans, didn't mean that the poor mates had to be living under such _horrible conditions_ \--

"Alright, we _get it_ ," Jaebum finally snapped, slicing through the chorus of complaints. Huffily, Jackson and BamBam decided that they would meet Jinyoung at the shop. 

"I'll follow them," Yugyeom murmured, pulling on a thick hoodie to counter the crisp air, caused by the layer of heavily laden clouds in the sky. It was so overcast that Yugyeom didn't have to pull the hood too far over his head, and when they opened the door to go out, a flicker of chilly breeze snuck into the living area and ruffled Mark's hair.

The cold settled on Mark like a veil, covering him like a thin blanket of ice. It persisted and he shivered. Instead of being countered by the warm air in the house, it seeped all the way down into his core, and Mark realised that really, he wasn't _cold_ … he was feeling _fear_.

"Jinyoung," he said and got to his feet, the book falling from nerveless fingers. " _Jinyoung_!"

"Hyung?" Jaebum's expression was a picture of complete confusion. "What--"

Mark was already rushing towards the door, but Jackson's blaring shout stopped him in his tracks so abruptly that he felt friction-heat from the floor through the thick material of his socks.

_Hyung! Yugyeom is coming back with him!_

"Ow!" Youngjae cried from inside his room, as Jaebum's hands flew to his head, cupping his ears and wincing. Youngjae stumbled out with one hand pressed to his temple. "Why is Jackson shouting?"

Jaebum tried to soothe his annoyed mate, and Mark's head throbbed with the impact of Jackson's mental bellow; he couldn't imagine how Jaebum and Youngjae felt right now. There had been panic in Jackson's tone. Great waves of shudders crashed within Mark's frame and with considerable effort he managed to diminish them.

He was close enough to the door that when Yugyeom kicked it open, it swung open just inches from his face, the made wind pushing back his hair from his forehead. Yugyeom carried Jinyoung's limp body, holding him as easily as he would a pillow. 

Mark's vision washed grey. He snapped his head from one side to the other, fiercely fighting against sinking into a sea of unconsciousness. Then, he took a deep breath and held out his arms. Yugyeom's eyes were very wide and when he handed over Jinyoung, he actually slumped against the wall in the hallway and rubbed his hands over his face, fingers shaking.

"Over here, hyung, over here," Youngjae urged, tossing away most of the cushions from the longest couch. Mark walked carefully in that direction and Jinyoung's head lolled back and forth with every movement. As he laid him down, Mark cupped the back of his neck, and Youngjae placed a pillow so that Jinyoung's head rested comfortably on it.

Kneeling on the floor beside the couch, Mark stared at his mate's face. Jinyoung's skin was ashen, absent of its usual warm shade. His respiration seemed shallow to Mark's worried gaze, but at least it was there, and regular. In the background, he heard Jackson and BamBam's panting entrance, obviously due to racing in the wake of Yugyeom's swift return home.

"Yugyeom. What happened," someone asked in a perfectly flat manner, tones very crisp and yet with a dark edge. Mark puzzled over that for a distant moment; while the person had sounded like Jaebum at his most intense, the voice was deeper and harder. 

After a few moments, he realised _he_ had spoken.

"Mark-hyung," Yugyeom strangled out and then simply stopped, as if he had lost access to every word in his head.

"We don't know," BamBam supplied. "We saw them chasing him down the road from the shop...three vampires, they were shouting at him. He was fast, hyung, but they're faster--"

"Heir-chaser, they were calling him!" Jackson collapsed on the floor right beside Mark, throwing one arm across his elder's shoulders. "He fell! They were reaching for him, they were _laughing_ , and…." Jackson's voice trailed off and a shocked silence took up its place. The whole space seemed to vibrate with the sudden hush.

"Seventh Heir," Jaebum murmured. "Please."

 _Please, what?_ Mark wondered. He happened to glance down at his hands, loosely curled on the tops of his thighs. His hands had grown in size, nails lengthened into sharp, long claws; the skin had gone alabaster pale and rough, like scales. He could now sense his back hunching and humping, bones cracking as they shifted in anticipation of the drastic changes.

"Okay," Mark said, and concentrated on returning to and maintaining his normal form. It was unsurprisingly difficult. "Okay."

After a few sluggish moments, Mark's shapeshifting stabilized and he said, "Jackson?"

"Um. Right," Jackson's inhale was loud and shaky, and on the exhale, words flowed like a rushing river: "They tried to grab him, I think they were just trying to scare him, and then they couldn't! They couldn't touch him, I mean, it's like their hands were slipping on air and then Yugyeom yelled at them, he's really loud, I didn't know he could shout like that but he did and then he rushed at them like...like a _truck_ and I guess if you have someone like my giant baby coming after you it's super-scary, so they ran off. Jinyoung-ah was just lying there, so Yugyeom picked him up and brought him home. Wow." 

Jackson tipped over to one side and then curled up on the floor. Youngjae knelt down, gently moving him so that Jackson's head rested in his lap. Jaebum sat beside them, and both vampires fussed over their mate with quick, gentle touches.

"I'm sorry I shouted," Jackson told them, looking up with a mournful cast to his eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine," Youngjae told him, patting his cheek affectionately.

"Why isn't he waking up?" Mark wondered and Jackson let out a soft, tired whine, his eyes drifting shut.

"I've been trying to get through to him," he grumped. "But he's still so hard to read. I know there's nothing broken, he's physically okay, I just don't know why he won't wake up!"

"Hyung, you're his mate," BamBam said, one hand resting very briefly on Mark's shoulder. "You can reach him."

Mark didn't think he was in position to be effective right now, but he would try his best. He reached out and took Jinyoung's closest hand; it was cold and clammy against his palm.

 _Jinyoung,_ he thought. _Wake up_.

_….don't want to…_

His mate's mental voice was extremely faint; Jinyoung could have been talking through a thick wall.

 _Why don't you want to_?

 _Dunno._ _Lemme sleep!_ Jinyoung seemed annoyed at the questions, childishly truculent. Mark sighed, his own relief blooming brightly in his mind.

"He's exhausted," he told the others, sitting back on his heels. "He just needs to sleep. Whatever he did, it drained him."

"But _what_ did he _do_?" BamBam asked, but the silence lay thick as no-one had an answer for him.

"Did you know who they were?" Mark asked, turning to stare at Yugyeom. "The persons chasing him. Do you know their names?"

"No, hyung," Yugyeom answered, far too quickly. BamBam blinked up at the side of Yugyeom's face, his own expression clouding for a moment...and then clearing very rapidly, going almost blank as he turned back to face Mark. Jackson, however, was apparently too tired for any attempt at dissimulation.

"Of course you do!" he said, head rocking from side to side on Youngjae's lap. "You were saying their names when you were running---" his eyes flew open as he realised his error. "Wait, no. I'm wrong. He didn't say their names. He doesn't know them."

Mark smiled up at Yugyeom, and it felt drastic on his face. Yugyeom actually took one wary step back. BamBam shifted to stand in front of him, eyes bright and jaw set.

"Tell me their names," Mark said with a gentleness that sounded terrible to his own hearing. "Tell me where they are."

"No, hyung," Yugyeom answered, his voice trembling. He reached out and seized BamBam's hand, squeezing tightly. That by itself would have stopped Mark completely, apologies and hugs doled out in equally numerous amounts...but not today. Not when his mate was lying limp on a couch, unacceptably pale and breathing short, sharp breaths.

"You protected the mate of the Seventh Heir," Mark told his guardian-vampire. "And I'm really thankful to you. But they harassed him. They scared him. They tried to touch him without his permission. The law says I'm allowed to seek retribution on his behalf."

"But if you hurt anyone here, they could send you away!" Yugyeom burst out, clenching his other fist. His eyes shone with with tears and he seemed so young at the moment. "American laws don't mean the same thing here!"

"It _is_ the same law in this country, Yugyeom-ah," Jaebum put in before Mark could wind himself up for a more strident rebuttal. "And you know it."

"It's all messed up already." Yugyeom actually knuckled at one eye like a very small, tired child. "I don't want Mark-hyung to go away if he hurts someone. Everyone seems to be against us already."

"Not everyone," Youngjae said. " _We're_ not against us."

"Yeah," Jackson murmured. "It's the seven of us together now."

The giant thundercloud of rage and panic and hate that had been building up inside Mark's chest began to dissipate. He looked at his mate again, and then nodded slowly.

"I promise you," he told Yugyeom, still staring at Jinyoung, "that I will not do anything that will get me sent back to the States. But I need everyone to understand that as my mate, Jinyoung is under any protection I can provide. If anything happens to _him_ , it happens to _me_."

His shoulders slumped underneath some unseen weight, gravity working too hard on him. Mark felt _wasted_ , as fatigued as Jinyoung's mental voice had sounded. He wasn't used to talking a lot, and he had just spent more words in one hour than he had ever utilized in a whole week prior to today; but for this, he would force himself to talk for _days_.

Yugyeom released a sigh so heavy, he could have been struggling with Mark under that same invisible load. "Okay, hyung. I'll tell you where you can find them."

"I'll go with you." Jaebum stood with his hands folded, his eyes dark with uneasiness as his gaze trailed between Mark and his slumbering mate. "I think I'm strong enough to subdue you, if it gets out of control."

"It won't." Mark rose to his feet. He nodded at Jackson and Youngjae, extracting a wordless promise that they'd watch over Jinyoung in Mark's absence. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like hearing what you think! Leave comments or if you want to drop me a line on Tumblr, I am [penmaries](http://penmaries.tumblr.com/)


	7. It don't mean love (it might be love)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark is scary, and finds out a bit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to cureyourtemper for the beta! Betas are awesome. If there are any mistakes, they are completely my own.
> 
> I've been going through a slump and I'm sorry for the long breaks but reading your sweet comments help me A LOT! I try but I can't answer every comment; I read them all tho. If you have any URGENT question, you can email me or message me on Tumblr!
> 
> This chapter's title is _Let's Not Be Alone Tonight_ by R5.

Jaebum and Mark returned only a few hours after.

Mark followed Jaebum through the door of their apartment; he was not as tired as he thought he should have been. Oddly, he felt keyed up, on edge. Jaebum glanced back at Mark as he bent over to undo his laces and pull off his sneakers. He straightened, and seemed about to say something, and then pressed his lips into a thin line. Then, to Mark's surprise, Jaebum reached out and gripped his upper arm, squeezing only for a moment before relaxing.

"You did well," was all he said, but a very small smile graced his lips. Mark smiled at him, relief suffusing under his skin at the show of support.

Jackson blasted into the tiny foyer, his eyes wide. Without a word, he flung his arms around Jaebum's neck and gave him a kiss so effusive that Mark raised his eyebrows. Youngjae darted in and skidded to a halt, hopping from one foot to the other. When Jackson released their mate, Youngjae seized him as well and bestowed him a kiss that, while not as extravagant as Jackson's, was quite packed with feeling.

"Hey," Jaebum said in a dazed voice as soon as he was released. "Uh...hi."

"We missed you," Jackson murmured, hugging Jaebum around the waist. "We were worried." He gave Mark a very long look out of the corner of his eye. "You okay, Mark-hyung?"

"I'm fine," Mark told him, and it was very true. His mate was safe, the offenders were warned to his satisfaction, and he was home. Jackson nodded, then he and Youngjae dragged Jaebum towards their room. Mark took a moment to remove his own shoes and walked into the living area proper. He paused beside the couch, which was devoid of the presence of his mate. Instead, Yugyeom and BamBam sat there, watching television. At least, Yugyeom stared at the TV with a glassy expression, and BamBam curled against his side, hair falling in a messy fringe over his cheek as he drooled on Yugyeom's shoulder. 

"I didn't hurt anyone," Mark said to Yugyeom and smiled at the gratefully pleased expression he got in reply. 

"I'm so glad, hyung," Yugyeom answered, quite simply. He nudged at BamBam's jaw with one hand, shifting his mate's head to one side so he could stand up. Then, very gently, he wriggled his hands underneath Bam's back and legs, picking him up and holding him close. BamBam murmured something and clutched at the soft material of Yugyeom's shirt, snuffling like a puppy. 

"I took Jinyoung-hyung to your room," Yugyeom told him. "Good night."

"Good night." Mark watched them depart, BamBam's long legs dangling comically. He switched off the television and the tall lamp beside the couch, then headed to his room. On his bed, Jinyoung lay in a loose curl, breathing deeply. Mark felt the slumbering grey of his mind, the steady balance even as Jinyoung slept. Mark hesitated, then sat in an armchair a few feet away from the foot of the bed, tucking his feet under himself.

He watched Jinyoung sleep for probably an hour more, and then he felt the soft dawning which indicated that Jinyoung was waking up.

Jinyoung sat upright in one abrupt jerk and then startled back when he saw Mark sitting there; an intense crack of fear flashed in Mark's mindscape like lightning. It took everything in him just to sit calmly and say, "Jinyoung, it's me. It's okay...you're safe," instead of leaping forward to comfort him, and terrifying him even more.

"Oh." Jinyoung pressed a hand to his chest and released very weak laughter. "In the dark, you looked like-- you looked scary."

"I'm sorry I scared you," Mark said. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Jinyoung blinked at him, his eyes still adjusting to the lack of light. "I suppose I am. Oh." He shivered. "I was going for food, when they…"

"I'll go get something," Mark murmured when Jinyoung's voice trailed off and showed no sign of returning in the moment. "I'll be right back."

A note had been placed on the kitchen counter, a fanciful arrow drawn on it pointing toward the microwave, _FOR JINYOUNG-HYUNG_ written in BamBam's clear handwriting. He warmed up the bowl of food he found, and arranged a tray with a tall glass of water, adding one of Youngjae's juiceboxes. Jinyoung had switched on the lamp beside Mark's bed and he accepted the tray with a quirking smile of his full lips.

Mark went back to the armchair and folded himself into it. Jinyoung poked at the noodles, then slurped up a mouthful. He chewed and swallowed in a contemplative fashion. Then, without looking at Mark, he said, "You wanted to hurt them."

"Yes," Mark agreed, for there was really no point in lying. "But I didn't."

Jinyoung stared down at his food, picking up a sliver of meat. "I almost can't tell if you actually _did_ hurt them, or just thought about it so much that you could picture it." He paused. "I can _see_ what you were thinking."

Mark winced and turned his attention inwards. He paused the running mental stream, filled with sheer rage, and hid it under many layers, as if he was shielding from Jackson. 

"I'm not worth that," Jinyoung said.

"I don't agree," Mark responded instantly. He must have said it too forcefully, for Jinyoung went still for a long moment, then raised the chopsticks to his lips; he ate the meat very slowly, as if he couldn't really taste it but was trying his best. Mark watched him.

For _this_ man, he had gone to some odd vampire den a few communities away. It had _appeared_ to be someone's home, but a section of it was a sort of gaming den as well, dimly lit and messy. Jaebum had strolled in with that cloak of arrogance he could slip on so easily, gaze scanning quickly from side to side. 

"There," Jaebum had murmured, and had tilted his head towards the back of the den, where three individuals had been sitting upright, their faces turned towards Mark and Jaebum. They resembled a bunch of meerkats in those nature documentaries that Mark sometimes watched online. Under any other circumstance, Mark would have been amused at the resemblance. 

The three vampires had risen as one and fled through a back door, as fast as the wind, their bodies melting into shadows. Jaebum hadn't said anything to Mark, just took off. Mark held still for a moment, then turned around. He walked out the front door, and then strode around the side of the building. Clearly, he could hear Jaebum's hurried footsteps, chasing the fugitives.

Mark leapt; he felt exceedingly calm, almost vacant. He rose up over tall buildings, one foot pressing delicately on the ridge of one steep roof to push himself just a little higher. His jacket fluttered around him as he descended. When he landed two streets away, it was right in front of the barreling trio.

The frontmost one gasped and fetched up hard, arms wheeling as he tried to regain his balance. The one behind stumbled into him, and she cursed out loud as the two of them collapsed onto the ground, topping over some recycling bins which had been left near the curb.

Jaebum brought up the rear, having caught the last one. He had one hand gripping the collar of her large jacket. She struggled and kicked, her small face contorted into a snarl as she tried to claw at Jaebum's face. As soon as she spotted Mark, she froze; her heeled boots dragged on the ground as Jaebum hauled her closer.

"We're not afraid of you," the male vampire said in a trembling voice as he rose on unsteady legs. 

"You're not?" Mark asked mildly. Yugyeom had said that this one's name was Yejun, and the two girls were Seoyeon and Jeni. He gazed at them. The two closest to him flinched away from his stare, and the one who Jaebum had been gripping, probably Jeni, tried to hide behind Jaebum.

"He's just an Heir-chaser!" Yejun burst out, his fists clenched, even as his lips trembled. "He should be punished for being so...so _presumptuous._ "

"Should he?" Mark asked again, the tone of his voice unchanged. Yet, he felt his facial features shifting, and there was a red haze to his vision. "Why would you assume he was being presumptuous?"

"Because he's nobody," Seoyeon muttered in the direction of the ground, and she dared to glance up at Mark's face before dropping her head down again. "He doesn't belong to any clan, he doesn't have any standing!"

"He's my mate," Mark told them. "He has standing with _me_."

"But we didn't even touch him! We couldn't--" Yejun began.

"Be silent," Mark told him, and the rest of Yejun's words apparently clambered back down his throat and left only a choking sound in their wake. "I don't care if you couldn't touch him or not. You tried to, and that's enough for me. I am in my rights to exact Retribution through the Blood Payment--"

"No!" Jeni screamed, trying to wrench herself out of Jaebum's hold. His grip, however, was quite firm and sparks of red lit deep in his eyes. "You can't! You're stronger, you could kill us! That's not right!"

"Not right? It's about as right as you trying to hurt his mate," Jaebum growled at her and she tried to punch him in the stomach, tears streaming down her pale face.

"But," Mark went on, and Jeni froze once more. "I won't ask for it. Not this time. My friends and my mate don't want me to." He looked at Jaebum, who blinked back at him. Mark dipped his chin in a tiny nod, and Jaebum released Jeni. "But consider this a warning. And tell every clan: the next person who tries to harm him will face Retribution from me. I am the Seventh Heir, The Unknown Might Once Hidden in the West. I will not be tested in this." He had never spoken his full title before, and it felt odd leaving his mouth. His words, though quiet, pulsed in the air around them. 

Seoyeon opened her mouth and Mark glared at her. Her eyes widened and she pressed her lips tightly together.

"Go," Jaebum said. The three of them edged past Mark very slowly, then scattered off into the night. Jaebum considered Mark for a long beat and then said, too casually: "Your eyes are on fire." 

Mark had frowned. At some time during his talk with the three offenders, his vision had shifted from that deep red to a bright, flickering blue with edges of yellow. He hadn't noticed. He shook his head, and then blinked a few times; very slowly, the comforting coolness of the night returned. Mark touched his cheek and noted the rough scaliness under his fingers, the newly high ridges of his brows. Concentrating, he felt his skin and bones return to their human-appearing states.

"Back to normal," Jaebum had noted and then sighed. "Let's go home."

"You're worth it," Mark told Jinyoung now. 

"I'm causing a lot of trouble," Jinyoung said, the words light and his voice heavy. "I've been reading some things online--"

"Ignore them." Mark's voice was sharp and he felt his entire self lurch out of control. Jinyoung's mind wrapped around his, calming, soothing. Mark closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to relax into the warm blanket of his mate's being. "Please, Jinyoung...just ignore whatever you're reading."

"It's a lot," Jinyoung admitted. "I thought it would be good to know about how the clans operated, but it's...almost too much."

A harsh vibration erupted in their bond, a quake that hit Mark in the chest and dug in like a spear. This felt like Retribution.

"I didn't want this." Jinyoung's voice was very small. "I saw you and...just. I didn't mean _any_ of this to happen."

Mark hugged at his own knees, curled up as he was in the armchair. He kept his eyes closed, trying to fight down the panic bubbling in his core. Bonds could be sundered, yes. One of the more powerful psychokinetics could undo the intertwining of minds and souls. It was painful, and mates were able to survive it...but Mark did not want any of that. The invisible spear in his chest twisted in even more and he tried his best to hold back a cry.

"I'm sorry," he heard someone murmur and opened his eyes to see Jinyoung leaning over him, his eyes shining. "I'm so sorry, my love, that I've caused you this pain."

Mark stared up at him, feeling extremely tiny under Jinyoung's encompassing gaze. Their bond shimmered between them, and the definitive sweep of Jinyoung's Ability washed away the hurt in his chest. The sob he had been holding back won against his defences and he pressed his forehead against his knees, blinking back hot tears.

With soft, almost whispered croons, Jinyoung pushed gently at Mark's arms and legs, unlocking his limbs so he could settle his taller form into Mark's lap. He drew Mark even closer, and murmured comfortingly as Mark let the tears roll down his cheeks. He pressed his face against Jinyoung's chest, and wept.

He hadn't cried this way in a long time.

Soon, he began to calm down; he heard Jinyoung saying, "I'm so sorry," over and over again. A bit sullenly, he thought: _what are you sorry about?_

Jinyoung's mental answer was a whirl of amusement and sadness. Instead of vocalizing, he opened up his memories, sliding them towards Mark with the deftness of a card-dealer. Intrigued, Mark inspected each memory carefully. He saw Jinyoung as a child, precocious and precious to his family. The only boy and spoiled rotten, much to the annoyance of his older sisters.

Mark saw that confusing time of what Jinyoung's family had thought had been a severe illness: a fever so high that he had been hospitalized. It had certainly been the manifestation of his Ability, Mark could see that; Jinyoung had been making predictions and reading people's minds in the same way anyone else like him would have; but he had been very young, and unable to verbalize clearly.

Now, experiencing flashes of life as Jinyoung, Mark thought he could understand why his mate and his family had not been brought under the safeguarding of a human clan. There was something interesting about Jinyoung's Ability. It was _strong_ , but cloaked. Hidden, like the lantern of a lighthouse covered with a dark cloth.

...why was this so?

_Anything I wanted, I got,_ Jinyoung murmured as Mark carefully viewed his recollections. As a young teen, Jinyoung had the uncanny capability of maneuvering people into doing what he liked. For a few years, he enjoyed this, but it began to feel hollow. It was wrong and he knew it.

With a control that Mark found extremely admirable, Jinyoung refused to let himself continue to utilize that skill. Friends drifted away, and while he and his family were close, he thought he could not trust himself around them. Living away from them seemed the best option, and around his room-mates he kept a firm rein on himself.

The cards flickered and Mark saw himself through Jinyoung's eyes.

_I knew you were mine, the moment I saw you,_ Jinyoung's voice thrummed through this memory. Mark was astounded at Jinyoung's impression: he seemed taller, leaner...dangerous and stunning. His eyes glowed, large in his narrow face, and when he stared at Jinyoung, a beam of _something_ locked between them. The light from Jinyoung's hidden lighthouse was so clear to him, so bright. It was sort of a pity that no one else could pick it up, but still Mark was glad for that.

Mark watched, slightly embarrassed at himself, as he prowled towards Jinyoung. Then, he felt Jinyoung's awed desire and blushed even harder.

_You're important_ , Jinyoung whispered. _I'm selfish and unkind. How can I take care of someone as perfect as you_? _I'll only fail. I'll only hurt you._

Mark reached out. Jinyoung's memory wisped away to nothingness around them; mist under the morning sun.

"Don't be afraid," he said. He found himself clutching his mate very tightly around the waist. "I'm not perfect...but we're perfect together."

With a soft sigh, Jinyoung settled even closer. "Mark?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever been afraid?"

"Yes," Mark said without hesitation. "I was afraid when I thought those kids had hurt you."

Jinyoung smiled. Mark couldn't see his face but he could feel it through their connection.

It was a good answer, but not quite what Jinyoung needed to hear. He spoke once more: "When...when I was a kid, back in the States, and they were choosing the next generation of heirs, they couldn't find the Seventh. I remember that even the human news-stations talked about it."

The Seer had been uncharacteristically vague after locating the Sixth, and for months could only say that the Seventh was 'in the West'. Mark remembered being caught up in the excitement of speculation with the rest of his family. His parents and their mates, nearly all of their friends and neighbours spent long hours wondering who this Seventh could be, and why the Seer was taking so long. 

At the start of that summer, the Seer declared, "California," as the location of the Seventh Heir and the focus of an entire nation turned to that state. "Los Angeles," the Seer said a few weeks into July and the excitement attained fever-pitch, like a month-long Independence Day. Queen Kamaria decided that it was best for her mate to actually visit the town, and the vampire clan of that area decided that there was no better time to throw a welcome parade. There were actual _floats_ , and fireworks. Mark's father had gotten a great set of seats in the stands, just at the corner where two streets met. They would have a nice view of the Queen's vehicle when it made the turn.

Mark had been right near the road, watching the procession as his family and clan chattered happily. The Queen's car had rolled slowly past and he had the quickest glimpse of the Queen's tiny hand waving from one of the large windows. A very short distance after the car had passed, it screeched to a halt and the Seer had tumbled out, tall with frizzy brown hair which stood on end. Their eyes were magnified behind very thick glasses as they gazed into the crowd. A security detail rushed around them, trying to prevent the crowd from touching the person who was at once the Queen's mate and the highest level Seer in the hemisphere. The Queen herself emerged and the stands buzzed with excited whispers.

Mark thought that, visually, the Queen and her Mate were ill-matched. Queen Kamaria was small but stylish, the bright orange shades of her tailored clothing complementing her dark skin.The Seer, Linel, seemed plain in comparison: a dark loose top over even darker jeans. Linel's dark gaze fell on Mark, and so did his fate.

"Mark!" Linel had bellowed, and pointed at him. "Mark Tuan! You! Seventh Heir!"

His mother had gasped and the members of his clan had turned to stare at him. Mark had felt all the blood drain from his face, and terror take its place, even as Linel continued to call to him, beckoning with an air of eagerness and exasperation. His parent's faces had shone with surprise and pride. The crowd parted for Queen Kamaria, who walked right up to Mark and took his hand in hers.

"Greetings, Seventh Heir," she'd said, her smile warm; he could see his fearful expression reflected in her eyes, and her sweet smile had disappeared, replaced by concern. She had appeared to understand his deep dismay, for she leaned close. "It will be all right," the Queen had whispered to him. "Don't worry."

"I didn't want to be the Seventh Heir," Mark said to Jinyoung. "I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. It just means that I'm the seventh in terms of potential to take over from the Queen. But it was scary."

Jinyoung hummed in reply.

"I left at the end of my training," Mark told him. "They let me come live here, because I'm not as important as you think. I'm not even an intern in a Tribunal sub-council, like the others. Although I have to be part of the next Queen or King's court...all the Heirs act as advisors."

Any Court of Advisors reported directly to the Vampire Monarch, and some individuals in the Tribunal resented their presence on sub-councils; it was felt that they interfered in Tribunal business on behalf of the sovereign. Mark knew most of Queen Kamaria's Court only by name, although they had all had spoken kind words to him at the ceremony of his Title.

"What sub-council would you like to be on?" Jinyoung asked, stroking Mark's cheek and ear for a moment before tucking close once more.

"Legal Proceedings," Mark said promptly, and felt surprised at himself. "Or Research and Development."

"Those are good," Jinyoung murmured, voice drowsy. "I think you would do really well on those." He said nothing more and Mark felt his mate's consciousness wind back down. He had had a taxing day, and as soon as he slipped away into sleep, Mark rose and carried him to bed, setting him down gently.

He stroked away the fringe of black hair from Jinyoung's forehead, watching his slumbering face. Then, as carefully as lifting a fragile glass rose, he plucked another memory from Jinyoung. He felt only the narrowest sliver of guilt, for Jinyoung had opened up a great forest of memories to him...even this small, hidden one that Mark was sure Jinyoung himself did not quite recall.

It was of an accident, when Jinyoung had still been very small. In fact, just after his manifestation, as he had been taken home from the hospital. At least, it _would_ have been an accident, if the truck had actually struck his family's car. The other, larger vehicle had been careening towards them, losing control on the rain-slick road and Jinyoung had reached out with his mind the way someone would fling out an arm in panic. The front bumper of the truck crumpled before it struck the family car; the truck itself bounced away as if it had struck some kind of unseen wall.

_A miracle_ , Jinyoung's mother had said when they'd come out of the car and looked for the damage that was not there. A miracle.

Mark stared at his mate. Jinyoung thought Mark was _important_...but he was sure that it was the other way around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like hearing what you think! Leave comments or if you want to drop me a line on Tumblr, I am penmaries


	8. And if I catch it coming back my way (I'm gonna serve it you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Jinyoung share a nightmare that's not a nightmare, and it's all downhill from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to cureyourtemper for the beta! Any mistakes are because I was messing with it AFTER my beta looked at it. This is a long chapter compared to the others, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to curlycrispop. THANK YOU BB
> 
> Please forgive the long breaks between chapters, but we're almost at the end! Subscribe to this to get alerted as to when it's updated!
> 
> Chapter title is from Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes.
> 
>   **Warning: the first part of this chapter has death, with bloody and violent imagery.**

_There is gore streaking down the wooden walls; there is blood, large dark pools of it, on the planked floor. This room is packed with death, bodies strewn like large piles of garbage. Many of them lie with their right arms outstretched towards him, fingers curled in aborted curses. Under their fingers are characters scrawled in red so dark that it is almost black, naming the architect of their demise._

_His own blood pulses in pained streams under his skin, sluggish and hot. No matter; whatever they had tried to do, he will excise it out of his system. As soon as he finishes up here._

_Blood, thick on his hands. He laughs, a high pitched, shrieking sound. They tried to stop him, didn't they? His own family, his own clan. They tried, but they failed. He is better than them now: stronger, faster. He is better than anyone._

_One of them stirs, moaning. She lifts her head, her black hair falling limply around her narrow face. Her eyes are empty sockets. He had removed them with no more than a whisper. She had been the first he attacked, because she always saw too much._

_She calls him by name, but it is a strangled sound. He steps towards her, still laughing. He will not be stopped. He is filled to the brim with the power he took...no, the power that was_ rightfully his _._

 _"I should have known it was you," she says, voice strained. "You bonded to them, you forced them to. Or you tricked them. You drained them of their life...you_ broke _them. Like you've always broken everything."_

_"Things that don't feel can't be hurt," he scoffs, energy crackling between his palms. He will remove her quickly from this life. It is right that she is the last one left: they were born under the same dark moon, after all, born of the same mother. With her and the rest of them gone, nothing can stop him._

_"I'll stop you," she promises as if she hears his thoughts, the last of her life spent in harsh breaths._

_"You're too weak!" he shouts, funneling more power into his hands. He will reduce this place to ashes. "You can't stop me! You can't do_ anything _!"_

_Before he can deliver the killing strike, the fingers on her right hand twitch. To his people, the left hand holds life; the right hand holds death. Even though his entire soul now trembles with the life-force of so many, she is faster: she always was. Darkness rushes towards him and he tries to block it, screaming in frustrated rage. She has captured his mind in a cage, spiraling down to nothingness._

_"Go from here, brother," he hears her whisper. "Go from us, and never know who you are…"_

_...he is choking--_

 

 

 

Mark flailed, ripping the covers to shreds. He drew in a shuddering breath, and then swung around at Jinyoung's pained groans. 

His mate was still asleep, trapped in that awful dream which had spilled over from him to Mark.

"Jinyoungie," Mark muttered, reaching out to shake him back to reality, but something blocked his hand from touching Jinyoung. A barrier, invisible and unyielding to Mark's attempts to push through it. Mark wrestled down the rising mountain of dread and tried to think: there was a blockade, yes, but it was out here in the physical world. As far as he could sense, he had unfettered access to Jinyoung's mind, who was still caught up in that horrible dream. He might free himself soon, but Mark did not want to take any chances.

Briefly, he considered calling for Jackson; then, he pressed his lips together tightly. Jinyoung was _his_ mate, and if that meant going back into that hellish space to get him, then Mark would do it. 

As soon as he let his eyelids fall shut and concentrated on that tortured flicker that was his mate's mind, he was back in that bloody room. It was a little lighter, the dawn a visitor waiting just beyond the walls. The air inside was stifling, with the crisp remnants of unseen energy. He recoiled from the sight of the mangled bodies. There was a clear space near one end and Jinyoung knelt there, looking odd in very old-fashioned clothing. His gaze was fixed on the ground, lips moving.

"Jinyoung?" Mark whispered and Jinyoung started. He looked up at Mark, who took a step back. This was Jinyoung's face: those thick eyebrows, the lovely eyes, those full lips...but this was not _just_ his mate. There was another presence, hard features a diaphanous mask layered over Jinyoung's. 

"I…" Jinyoung swallowed. "Who am I? Who are _you_?" As he spoke, another voice rumbled a mere beat _before_ his, deep and faint.

"I'm Mark...you're my mate, Jinyoung," Mark told him in the gentlest tones he could use but Jinyoung shook his head, his eyes wide in confusion.

"That's not my name," he said and then closed his eyes briefly as if he was in pain. "I don't know much...but I know that's not my name."

Mark thought for a moment. "Do you know where you are?"

"Jinhae-gu," Jinyoung answered promptly. "I must leave here, and go far away. And not hurt anyone...like...I used to…" he trailed off, a frown crumpling the space between his brows.

"Then go," Mark advised, pieces of a puzzle fitting together in his mind. "Go, like you were told. Don't hurt anyone again."

"Of course." Jinyoung bowed politely, and then a gauzy figure rose from out of his bent-over form, a ghost in the past. Without a glance to Mark, nor the persons lying still around them, nor even to Jinyoung, the form walked towards the door, opened it and continued its serene journey towards the rising sun.

Jinyoung rose himself a few moments after. "Mark-hyung?" he murmured, his eyes filling with tears. "You're here."

"Yes." Mark rushed to him and grasped his hands. "Jinyoung, we're in a nightmare of yours...but I don't think it's really a nightmare."

Jinyoung's smile was shaky, but at least it was present. "How can it be a nightmare if you're here?"

Mark had to smile in return, his whole soul warming at Jinyoung's trusting expression. "Let's wake up together, okay? Ready? One. Two. Three."

Jinyoung returned to reality with a strangled cry, that barrier dissolving under Mark's fingers. Mark grabbed at his shaking mate, dragging him close and hugging him as tightly as he could without actually bruising him or cracking his ribs. Jinyoung tried to speak, but the words were pulverised by his chattering teeth.

"It's okay," Mark kept whispering, stroking his arm tenderly. "It's okay, I'm here."

After nearly five minutes, Jinyoung murmured, "I haven't had that dream in _years_."

"I don't think it's a dream," Mark said, and pressed his lips to Jinyoung's cheek for a moment, trying to pass on even more comfort. "I think it's kind of a memory."

He told Jinyoung about what he read about the Jinhae-gu clan, and their bloody end. When he mentioned what they had written on the floor, _THE BREAKER_ , Jinyoung closed his eyes and rubbed over them with his finger and thumb.

"So am I related to this... _Breaker_ in some way?" His voice was weary, but despite that he seemed very interested. Mark nodded.

"It fits. The Jinhae-gu clan had most of the strongest witches in the world--"

"The psychokinetics, that's what they're called these days," Jinyoung cut in. "So I've read."

Mark grinned at him. His mate was so quick.

"Right, the psychokinetics. The Breaker was so strong, he could bond with vampires and then break the bond after he stole all their life. He broke them so badly, I think it killed them. I don't know of _any_ psychokinetic who can break their own bond. In the end his own family had to stop him. They couldn't kill him, but they took away his memory and sent him far away. He was special. And he was your direct ancestor, I'm sure."

Jinyoung's face was wreathed in doubt.

"You can put up a kind of force field when you're in danger," Mark told him and Jinyoung wrinkled his nose in sheer disbelief. "You _can_ ," Mark insisted. "I felt it, just now. Those vampires that attacked you said they couldn't touch you."

"Okay," Jinyoung murmured. Mark could feel him tentatively searching for any signs of a lie, and finding none.

"Believe me," Mark said and kissed him again, right on the mouth this time. "Even without this power, you're special."

"I think they might have cursed the Breaker, too, or whatever psychokinetics did that we call curses these days," Jinyoung mused. Mark watched him, entranced at the quick thoughts building a whole narrative behind his eyes. "When I got my Ability, shouldn't I have been taken in by a clan? But no one sensed me...so maybe when the Jinhae-gu clan was trying to stop him, they wiped his memory _and_ did something to him that would prevent anyone from getting near him ever again. Just in case."

An entire human clan, Mark mused, using the last of their exceptional yet fading powers to block the Breaker's Ability, to stifle that seductive beacon which would draw in any unsuspecting vampire. If so, their sacrifice had served to protect the vampires...and to prevent an enraged reaction from the Korean vampire nation on the human clans. They must have woven their curse into his very blood, their desperation making it so potent that he passed it on to his descendants.

"But I saw you," Mark recalled; it was now his turn, apparently, to frown in confusion. "I sensed your Ability as soon as I saw you."

"I wanted you to see me," Jinyoung told him, recovered enough to smirk at him. "Or maybe you're just as special as I am."

"There's room for only one special one in this relationship," Mark said, "and that's you."

"Hmm." Jinyoung leaned in, capturing Mark's lips in a gentle kiss. His mind wrapped around Mark's so protectively, and Mark reveled in it, enjoying the sensation of Jinyoung's arm under his fingers. He pushed back Jinyoung onto the messy covers, and as he straddled his human mate, kissing his shoulder and bicep and chest, the doorbell chimed softly.

It rang again as Mark tasted the soft darkness of Jinyoung's navel, and before he could explore the hollows of waist and groin to his heart's content, someone knocked on his bedroom door.

"Mark-hyung," Jaebum called out as Mark groaned in annoyance. "Please come quickly."

"I was just about to," Mark grumbled and when Jinyoung giggled, he gave him a quick, playful pinch on his thigh. Mark pulled on a wrinkled shirt and a pair of questionable tracksuit bottoms, and then headed towards the living room.

He stopped short at the sight of a very tall man in a long black cloak standing at one side of the room. Jaebum, Yugyeom and BamBam were on the opposite side as if they faced a firing squad, staring at their 'guest' in confused suspicion.

The tall man stepped forward, his hair slick over a wide, pale forehead; a vampire. "Seventh Heir," he said in English with a voice as oily as his hair. "Do you remember me?"

"Yes," Mark answered. "You're a member of the American Tribunal. Proctor Pryce."

"Very good," the proctor said, smiling widely, falsely. He handed Mark an envelope and without thinking, Mark took it, barely hearing Jaebum's warning mutter. "Seventh Heir, you have been served a summons for a hearing against you and your...mate."

"They're summoning me to a hearing," Mark said in Korean, hands shaking slightly as he pulled open the envelope.

"Who is holding this hearing?" Jaebum snapped and raised his eyebrows when Mark turned to give him a dazed look. "Translate, please."

Still stunned, Mark translated.

"A combined panel of the Tribunal and the Union of Human Ability Clans," Pryce responded. "The hearing is this evening at six-thirty, at the Council Complex."

"That's not enough time," Jaebum argued as soon as Mark finished translating. "And he shouldn't be asked to face a hearing without the support of his clan."

"Oh." Proctor Pryce waved one large, gloved hand dismissively. "It would have taken too long to inform his clan and have them all convene here in this country. And if he and his mate have bonded in the proper fashion, then he won't have anything to worry about, isn't that so?"

Mark rather thought that it might have been easier to summon him to the States; even if they _had_ told his clan that they needed to come to Korea, they would have, without hesitation. 

"He requires the support of his clan, and if his American clan can't be here, then his other clan will stand with him," Jaebum said, and Mark could hardly translate; there was a lump in his throat.

"He has _another_ clan?" Pryce's tone was amused, almost indulgent, but there was a surprised cast to his eyebrows.

"Yes, he has us _._ " Jaebum snapped. "We are unofficial, yes, but we will be there. And you will need to find a decent translator for me, since I will serve as the counsel of the Seventh Heir and his mate."

Pryce's smile faded at Mark's interpretation of Jaebum's snarled words. "We will see you all soon, then."

"Wake the rest," Jaebum told Yugyeom when the proctor departed. "And tell them."

"Yes, hyung," Yugyeom murmured and as he passed Mark, he squeezed his shoulder in an attempt at comfort. 

"I need to prepare," Jaebum said and was about to hurl himself to his bedroom when Mark seized his sleeve, stopping him short.

"Jaebum. Thank you."

Jaebum gave him a long, searching look, and then smiled. "Hyung, it's my job to protect you. But...you were one of the few persons to accept me, Jackson and Youngjae without any questions, just as we are. BamBam doesn't say it, because he's BamBam, but all the Korean vampire-clans spoke ill of him because he chose Yugyeom. Living in the home of the American Seventh Heir...well, it gave him back a lot of his standing."

Mark tried to speak, but that stupid lump had reappeared.

"You don't know what you do for us, hyung." Jaebum's voice was gentle and his hand was warm on Mark's shoulder. "But we know. We're your clan here. And we're going to do our best for you."

Tears spilled over onto Mark's cheeks and he closed his eyes tightly, trying to press them back. Someone cupped his face, thumbing away tears and he smiled at the soothing presence of his mate.

"What can I do, my love?" Jinyoung's voice was soft music to his ear.

 _Call me your love forever,_ Mark thought and out loud he said, "Let's tell Jaebum about what we saw in your nightmare. Then...let's get ready."

The whole household was thrown into a tempest. Jaebum, Youngjae, Jackson and Jinyoung hurried off to the college to pull as much information they could manage with Jaebum's Council credentials, and to go back as far as possible into Jinyoung's family history. BamBam and Yugyeom were left behind with Mark, and as soon as the door shut behind the others, BamBam went into _maximum overdrive._

"Hyung!" He bellowed in Mark's face. Mark flinched back, eyes wide like an offended cat. "Look, we are going to _war_ over your mate! And we need to dress you for the fight!"

Mark hazarded a guess: "...with...armour?" BamBam gave him a withering stare.

"No. A well-fitted suit."

"Just go with it, hyung," Yugyeom advised as Mark was bundled out into the crisp morning, covered from head to toe against the irritating rays of the sun. "You know this is his way of dealing with stressful situations."

The suit was easy because BamBam believed that this kind of occasion called for a stylish cut, almost severe in its simplicity. Then they had to get shoes to match, a fancy scarf and for some reason a handkerchief made of glittery, black material.

"You should change your hair color, hyung," BamBam advised when they returned home with all the packages.

"What? Why?"

"Because you mean _business_." BamBam dropped his armful of parcels and actually clenched his fists. "You're not going to play around. So go as blond as mine. _More_ blond, if you can manage it. Can you push it back from your forehead? Wait, don't bother. Let me fix it."

By the time the others returned, Mark sat waiting and newly styled on the couch, accompanied by a fully dressed Yugyeom and a BamBam still in the throes of some teeming emotion. Jinyoung had no time to exclaim in appreciation over Mark's appearance before BamBam flew at them like a fury, bullying them all into slick, all-black clothing until they appeared as if they were going to a fashion show in Milan.

"Thank you, BamBam," Jinyoung said as he and Mark got into a car with BamBam and Yugyeom. "This coat is really nice, but isn't it a bit much--"

"No, hyung. It is not too much." BamBam's voice was filled with icy resolve. "It is all about image, you see? They need to know with just one look that we are not going to let them take _anyone_ from us."

"Ah. I understand." Jinyoung smiled at him, and took Mark's hand. "Then I am glad we're in this together."

BamBam's mood shifted from cold glowering to sweet sunniness. "Of course, hyung. So am I."

The building which housed the Korean Council was nearly an hour away, and by the time they arrived, it was a few minutes after six. The space designated for the hearing was too much like a courtroom for Mark's peace of mind, and he took a seat on one side of the walkway, facing a long table on a platform. Jaebum sat beside him, and the others in the row just behind.

A door to the front of the room opened and a group of individuals, all Americans, strolled in and sat at the table. Roberta Scott was here, but not Sheree Wallace, nor Jericho Kang. Mark gnawed at his lower lip; all the vampires, except for one, were ones who had been vocal against his appointment as an Heir. Scott herself, Pryce, Alanzo and Wu; the fifth vampire was a new member of the tribunal that he did not know. 

In all there were nine, four humans and five vampires, and they gaped at Mark and his clan, obviously unprepared for the bespoke sight. The humans snapped out of it first to give Mark suspicious glares, while the vampires did not gaze at anyone in particular; however, Mark could feel their curious mental pokes at his bond with Jinyoung. 

The vampires suddenly jumped as if jabbed by needles. Jinyoung had turned his Ability outwards in spikes, protecting his bond with Mark just as BamBam and Jackson had taught him. Mark enjoyed a few beats of smugness before another group walked in: four persons, two women and two men. They all seemed very normal, but Mark had seen images of them in reports from the vampire nation.

These four were witches; _psychokinetics_. As they walked past Mark and his companions, the elderly leader turned his head to look right in Jinyoung's face. His eyes widened and he stumbled so badly that he went down on one knee. Mark and Jaebum jumped to help, but the young woman just behind him carefully pulled him to his feet and they continued on. They sat across the passage, but as far from Mark and his clan as they could manage. The leader did not look their way again.

Finally, a young human woman walked in with recording devices, and took a seat between the table and the benches.

Roberta spoke: "We now convene the hearing into the legality of the bond established between the Seventh Heir, and an Unclaimed Ability-Human, under laws recognized by clans in the United States of America and the Republic of Korea. Seventh Heir, please identify yourself for the record."

Mark rose and tried to breathe normally. "I am Mark Yi-En Tuan, Seventh Heir to the American Vampire Monarchy, The Unknown Might Once Hidden in the West. I am the Last Potentiality." To his own ears, his voice was thin and lacking in confidence. The panel was unimpressed.

Roberta said, "Thank you, Seventh--" but Mark cut in.

"Honorable Wallace," he said, more firmly this time. "My counsel had requested a translator for these proceedings."

"We couldn't find one in time," Pryce said with his grating smile. "You'll have to just do without, I suppose."

"No worries!" Jackson yelled, jumping to his feet and going to stand in the walkway. "I'll translate. I can think in English and Korean, just route it through me."

"Route...it?" Pryce gazed at Jackson as if he was some sort of odd insect.

"He is Jackson Wang," the elderly psychokinetic said in a strong but papery voice. He kept his gaze fixed to the front of the room. "He can do it. It will be instant, and a little painful if he's not careful, but he can do it."

"My dear sir," Jackson sniffed. "I am _nothing_ if not careful."

"Very well." Roberta nodded. "We will begin."

"I call Park Jinyoung to be questioned," Pryce said and Mark felt the feedback from Jackson, a firm but gentle voice in his head. He also felt a rush of surprise from his mate, but Jinyoung's face was composed when he walked to sit on a chair placed right in front of the panel.

"Are you from a currently active Ability clan?" Wu asked and nodded with a sneer as Jinyoung answered in the negative.

"Were you coerced into becoming a mate?" one of the human panel members asked, peering at Jinyoung from behind thick glasses.

"No," Jinyoung answered firmly. "I was not put under thrall."

"But you were not raised in an Ability clan, so how would you know what the thrall might feel like?"

"I don't feel different in any way," Jinyoung said. "All my thoughts and actions have been my own, and now I am bonded with the Seventh, they are still my own."

The panel was generally expressionless, but Mark knew the thoughts rippling around their heads. Many non-Ability humans had no idea that they were put under thrall...even a few with underdeveloped Ability could not withstand a newly mature vampire.

"Do you understand the duties of a human mate with the Ability?"

"I do."

"Did you understand _before_ you were bonded? Were you aware of all you are required to do?"

Jinyoung opened his mouth and then closed it again. Slowly, he shook his head and Mark clasped his hands tightly together. The panel whispered to each other, and Pryce said, "We have no more questions for Park Jinyoung. Counsel of the Seventh Heir, you may begin."

Jaebum got to his feet. Instead of approaching Jinyoung, he turned and stared at Jackson.

Jackson nodded, and strode forward.

"Park Jinyoung," he said and Mark felt his jaw go slack. The words...he could hear both Korean and English, but for him the English was clearer, the Korean a murmur in the background. He supposed that if a listener spoke one language, they would hear only that. Yet, that wasn't the most surprising thing. The voice coming out of Jackson, in any language, wasn't his.

It was Jaebum's.

Through Jackson, Jaebum said, "Do you know of the Jinhae-gu clan?"

Jinyoung nodded. "We found out about them today. And...we found strong evidence that I am related to them."

Jaebum folded his arms, and like a mirror, so did Jackson. "This evidence will be presented for the perusal of the panel. Human census records point to a strong probability that Park Jinyoung is descended from the last surviving member of the Jinhae-gu Clan, a man who had been known as Daeshim after that clan had been destroyed. He was a man with no memory, except that he claimed he had grown up in Jinhae-gu...but prior to that he may have been known as The Breaker."

The psychokinetics reacted with harsh whispers, clutching at each other. The leader still did not move, but all the blood had drained from his face.

Jaebum ignored them. "I submit that Park Jinyoung is the descendant of the original Jinhae-gu, which remains an officially recognized Ability-human clan, and once the greatest in the world. If he had not been claimed by a modern clan, then that is not his fault, nor that of the Seventh Heir."

"That is all circumstantial," Pryce snapped.

"These circumstances are _exceptional_ ," Jaebum insisted. "Park Jinyoung has displayed Abilities that are akin to a psychokinetic. He is untrained, but now he has the support of trained mates. My questions for him are finished. I call BamBam forward for questions."

BamBam strutted forward to take Jinyoung's place. The panel was patently thrown by Jaebum's confident maneuvering, and even more so when BamBam rattled off his full name for the record.

"BamBam, please explain your background as it relates to this hearing."

"In my year of debut, I was the highest ranked Ability-human in Thailand," BamBam said. "I was also trained from a very young age by the leaders of my former clan to assist those newly awakened to their Ability."

Mark blinked; he had not known that.

"And have you been assisting in the training of Park Jinyoung?"

"There was no official contract," BamBam said. "But yes, I have been mentoring Park Jinyoung with the assistance of Jackson."

"So...the highest ranked debutant of his time, in addition to a powerful psychic, has been training Park Jinyoung. What is your opinion on his Ability, BamBam?"

"He's strong," BamBam answered promptly. "And he is quick. In a short time he learned how to support the mind and energy of the Seventh Heir. He can learn more, but for now he is doing very well."

"To your knowledge," Jaebum asked, "is Park Jinyoung under the thrall of the Seventh Heir?"

"I can't sense any such coercion, and I am qualified in resisting the thrall and detecting it when it's placed on other humans. Neither can Jackson."

There were no questions for BamBam from the panel, but then: "We call the Seventh Heir for questioning." The walk from his seat felt like crossing a desert. Mark sat in the chair in front of the panel, sinking under the weight of nine pairs of judgemental eyes.

 _I'm here with you._ Jinyoung's presence was an oasis in that desert. _Depend on me_.

"Seventh Heir," one of the humans asked. "How did you know that Park Jinyoung possessed the Ability?"

Mark was about to say _I don't know_ , but a soft mental nudge from Jinyoung caused him to halt. _Depend on me,_ Jinyoung had told him, and he remembered how Jinyoung had appeared to him, in that crowd in the club. He had shone, like a beacon.

"I did know," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "I knew because he showed me. I knew because I am an Heir."

"You are not as mature as you think!" Roberta burst out, but Mark had Jinyoung on his side, and he straightened up, squaring his shoulders. He stared right in her face.

"I am an Heir. I am stronger than you know."

Roberta scoffed, but she looked away, her cheeks flushed.

"Did you follow through the protocols?" One of the humans asked. "Courtship, Offer, Acceptance?"

"The protocols were...shortened," Mark admitted. "But they were there."

"And what was your gift?" Another human on the panel demanded. This one actually leaned forward, his fingers curled tightly over the edge of the table. "What gift was presented?"

"I had no gift," Mark said, and smiled slightly as he remembered BamBam and Yugyeom. "I only have myself to give."

"No gift," the previous interrogator repeated to himself and then dipped his head once, triumphantly.

"The Counsel of the Seventh Heir is free to question his charge," Proctor indicated, and Jaebum nodded, his gaze now downcast.

"Mark-hyung," he said, his voice flowing out of Jackson's mouth with laconic smoothness. "Have you studied the protocols for different countries?"

"Yes." Mark wrinkled his brow, unsure of where Jaebum was headed with this line of questioning.

"Then clarify, for this American panel, the protocols which exist in the Republic of Korea."

"Unlike the United States, no gifts are required in Courtship," Mark repeated instantly, the words from his textbooks floating on in his memory like leaves on water. He felt like laughing, and the rest of his speech escaped over a smile. "Gifts are a public expression of intent, and while they are welcome, they are not mandatory."

"But...he's American!" The human interrogator sputtered.

"Mark-hyung, did you establish a bond in the Republic of Korea?" Jaebum asked, and it was interesting to see how when he raised one eyebrow, Jackson did the same. Mark answered in the affirmative. "And did you establish a bond with a citizen of the Republic of Korea?"

"I did."

"The the issue of gifts is unnecessary," Jaebum said, wrinkling his and Jackson's noses in distaste. "And you testify that you clearly Offered, and Park Jinyoung clearly Accepted."

"I did," Jinyoung spoke up before Mark could respond. "I Accepted."

"You are not required to answer at this time, Mr. Park," Proctor Pryce told him very coldly. "Seventh Heir, kindly confirm: did you properly Court your current mate?"

"Not...according to American standards, no," Mark said, sighing softly.

"Then we have no more questions. This hearing is complete, and we will deliberate--"

"I have something to say." The elder of the psychokinetics rose, his round face locked into a rocky expression. "My name is Eli Wrenford. Our kind knows of the Breaker, but we thought he was just a myth...a cautionary tale. If this man is indeed a descendant of the Breaker, then he is very dangerous, and should not be allowed to bond with any vampire."

"I disagree," the younger psychokinetic spoke, the one who had helped up the elder when he had stumbled. Eli gave her a very shocked stare. "Father, I don't think he's dangerous at all...but he belongs to our clan. He needs proper training."

" _Elizabeth_ ," Eli hissed, his eyes wild with outrage, but Roberta's voice boomed over them.

"We will take your words into consideration as we deliberate."

As the panel descended from the platform and retreated to the door from which they had first entered, Jaebum blinked a few times and then cleared his throat. A few steps away, Jackson swayed and Youngjae rushed to slip an arm around him.

"Are you okay?" Youngjae asked and Jackson nodded wordlessly. "You've been doing a lot today, you silly bean. I'll get you something to drink." He very nearly lifted Jackson over to Jaebum, and pushed the two of them to sit down, bustling off to fetch some water.

"How did we do?" Mark asked. Jinyoung reached forward and squeezed his shoulder; Mark put his hand over Jinyoung's, holding it close.

"I don't know," Jaebum murmured. "They were hostile from the start...except maybe two or three of them. I really can't say. But you all did well."

"Yes, I know." BamBam snuggled into Yugyeom's side, his expression beatific. Youngjae returned with water for them all, and Mark sipped at his bottle slowly. The Tribunal could not possibly consider dissolving their bond. That would be so cruel.

Jackson stiffened. He choked on a mouthful of water and then strangled out: "Mark-hyung, take Jinyoung and _go._ They've decided to--"

Mark didn't wait to hear any more of it. He stood, and reached over the back of his bench. In one smooth motion, he gathered Jinyoung in his arms and spun around on one heel, gazing to the windows set high in the walls of this room. He could make it, easily.

"If you run, then it will be your doom," Proctor Pryce declared as he strode back into the room, followed closely by Roberta and the other members of the panel. The main door swung open, and a large group of muscular guards swept in, a squad of about fifteen vampires. They fixed red-flecked stares on Mark and his clan, hands clasped around shining batons.

"The bond between the Seventh Heir and the Unclaimed Ability-Human is declared unlawful under Tribunal regulations," Roberta Wallace announced. "We hereby authorize the psychokinetics to break this bond with immediate effect. Guards, subdue them."

"No," Jinyoung moaned, clutching at Mark. Three of the psychokinetics rose to their feet, but Elizabeth remained seated, shaking her head slowly. "Please...don't do this."

The guards charged; Yugyeom and Jaebum blurred towards them. They were much faster than the squad, but they were only two; one of the guards slipped through a hole in their protective sweeps and managed to grab Jinyoung's arm, almost hauling him out of Mark's grip. BamBam tackled this one with a hoarse shout. Out of the corner of his eye, Mark spotted Youngjae hunched over a limp Jackson; someone had managed to knock him out, which was probably a well-planned measure. Jackson could have incapacitated everyone in this room with a thought.

He nearly dropped Jinyoung as an intense lightning of pain streaked through his body. In his arms, Jinyoung convulsed. The psychokinetics were breaking them apart. Elizabeth shouted at her father and the others. Jinyoung screamed, his eyes rolling back in his head--

The world slowed down around Mark. They ripped at his connection to Jinyoung, and the room began to darken.

_Mark! Don't let me go!_

Was there still a _Mark_? Yes...driven far and deep. Mark still existed, but as a churning core, bright and hot, a small pulsar. Around this nucleus, the Heir exploded.

The Heir had emerged, and was rage and fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like hearing what you think! Leave comments or if you want to drop me a line on Tumblr, I am [megs-got-all7](https://megs-got-all7.tumblr.com/)!


	9. I'm calling you from the future (to let you know we've made a mistake)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The Heir had emerged, and was rage and fire._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to cureyourtemper for the beta! Any mistakes are because I was messing with it AFTER my beta looked at it. Please enjoy!
> 
> One more chapter to go. I'll get it up as soon as I can, please trust in me. Subscribe to this to get alerted as to when it's updated!
> 
> Chapter title is from Champion by the Fall Out Boy.

_I will burn this world for him_ , the Heir promised, in a voice made of molten rock and unfiltered wrath. _I will make it ash and smoke. I will boil the waters from the oceans._

_Nothing will remain if he is taken from us._

The Heir was an entity of flames, eyes huge like twin lighthouse beacons. It was almost too tall for this enclosed space: the top of its head pushed at the ceiling of the room, and the thick slab of concrete creaked with the pressure. Someone at the Heir's massive feet screamed and small beings scattered around it.

From deep within, that part of the Heir known as _Mark_ pondered. This was the portion which usually had complete control, which had kept the Heir gently but firmly enfolded from childhood. The Heir did not resent Mark for this; they were the same being. Mark was aware of all this and yet not aware. As long as Mark survived, and thrived, so did the Heir, biding its time to protect...its moment to raze.

It paused, waiting for Mark to halt it, to regain control. The Heir was a conflagration, but Mark could cool it down again, return them to normal.

The Heir howled as Mark loosened restraint: _do what you have to._

The world would be set ablaze. The Heir would ignite it.

It looked around, taking note of its clan and its enemies. Without a thought, it adjusted its flames so that its clan would not be scorched. The attacking vampires had all shifted form, but even the largest of them was no higher than the Heir's torso. It swung at them with one clawed fist, moving so fast that they had no time to shift away. They flew in the air, slamming against the walls with satisfying _thunks_. One of them actually crashed right through, fetching up in the wide hallway outside.

Deep within the Heir, Mark cried out in agony, and Jinyoung shouted in unison. The Heir shuddered, pain rushing all along its scaly skin. They were being _broken_. It must find these monsters and crush them.

It shifted its head from one side to the other and found those who tortured his Mate. These _murderers_ stood a few steps away from Jinyoung, who knelt on the floor with both palms pressed against his temples. Three of them stared at Jinyoung, energy flowing from them. The skin of Jinyoung's cheeks and forehead was bright red; a trickle of blood oozed from one nostril. The Heir raised one powerful arm and brought it down swiftly.

Its arm struck something and bounced off; the fire which clothed the behemoth form of the Heir cast light onto a curved dome which now arched over the witches and the interrogators, translucent as a bubble. Beautiful and strong...yet not strong enough. The Heir's blow had left a large crack nearly halfway down the curve.

 _Mark...don't_. Jinyoung's voice was a weak whisper and the Heir screamed.

_They're breaking us...they could kill you!_

_I know._ Jinyoung's mental voice was low, but determined. Mark heard his pained smile and the Heir lashed out, clawing deep luminous grooves into the walls. Chunks of concrete rained down to the floor and bounced off the dome. _But I can't let you be like them. You're kind...loving. The Heir is a wonder. But tell it to stop._

_No! Let me save you!_

The Heir shrieked, a drilling sound that shattered all the high windows, glass blowing outside in fine shards. Another, larger group of vampires attempted to strike it down once more, but the Heir countered with wildfire lightning, spinning many out of its way. The two guardian vampires of Mark's clan moved like the dancing shadows created by the flames, subduing the rest. The witches focused completely on Jinyoung; it must have been more efficient for them to break the bond from his end, but none of this mattered to the Heir. Long lines glimmered along its body, then glowed a blinding white.

Jinyoung wouldn't let it through, but it could evaporate the blood from their veins.

_...my love...please…_

Jinyoung strength faltered, seeping away from Mark. His dome rippled, the crack widened, and then the entire bubble dissolved. The old witch darted forward and seized Jinyoung by the neck, his wrinkled face contorted in fear. Jinyoung tried to pull away, but then went limp.

Mark could not feel Jinyoung's presence. The sweet cradling Ability which had balanced him for such a short time was torn away. Torment replaced every inch of blood, bone and sinew. The Heir screamed once more; it reached down to grab the witches and squeeze every last inch of life from their frail human bodies.

Jackson's thought flitted around its ear on a whispering breeze: _Hyung, let me handle them. You three: stop!_

The force which stormed past the Heir was nearly visible in precision and intensity, aimed for the witches. They staggered back as if struck by bullets, clutched at their heads and then toppled over as one. The remaining witch ran over, sobbing as she tried to rouse them from their enforced faint. Her face was red and covered with sooty streaks. The witches still breathed, their pulses were steady, and the Heir _would incinerate them_.

"Heir," a clear voice called. "Mark...can you hear me? Listen to your Queen."

The Heir stopped. It did not turn around, but simply transmuted its whole form from back to front. The Queen stood at the main entry, beside one of the doors which had been pulled from its hinges. The tiny human form of the Queen was barely a speck in the wide vision of the Heir. However, sheer power billowed around her: a bright silvery haze which gusted through the entire room. As that argent veil wafted towards the Heir, it gently extinguished the fires. The Heir was not as strong as her...not yet.

"Your Queen is here to help you," Kamaria said. "Heir, be calm." She strode forward slowly, arms held palms up, her little dark face tilted up at him. Her eyes were wide, gaze filled with sorrow. 

_Is he dead?_ The Mark-consciousness was a solid kernel of anguish.

 _No,_ the Heir answered. _He lives._

_Let me out._

Obediently, the Heir folded in, tucking into halves and pockets, contracting until it packed neatly into the form of a slight man with blond hair, dressed in a well fitted black suit. The last visible sign of the Heir were the twin flames slowly diminishing to embers in Mark's eyes. Tears turned to steam before they even touched his eyelashes.

In the ruined silence, Mark turned towards Jinyoung's still body and tried to take a step. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor. Stupefied for a beat, he crawled towards his Mate, teeth gritting with every movement. Jinyoung lay with his eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling.

When Mark called his name, Jinyoung blinked once, very slowly. As his eyelids slipped down, a sliver of light lit up inside Mark. He still suffered from their lacerated bond, edges ragged like a torn wound...but there was a bare thread still there. A slender strand remaining from a destroyed web, it was _there_. They had each gripped their own end grimly, refusing to let go.

Jinyoung breathed, "Mark." That single strand fluttered and flared. It spread like the roots of a tree, threading back and forth between the two of them. Peace washed over Mark from head to toe, and he released a broken, grateful sob as Jinyoung's stable energy wrapped around him, that intensely comfortable cradle. His pain washed away and the Heir retreated even more to its slumber, content.

"Oh my god," Mark cried, pulling Jinyoung to him. He wiped away the blood with his own sleeve before hugging his mate close. Jinyoung groaned but he wrapped his arms around Mark's neck, kissing his cheek.

"I was so afraid," Jinyoung murmured against his skin, and Mark was cold to his very core.

The rest of their clan limped over, surrounding them with their supporting presence. Jackson's face was streaked in tears, a red lump blooming on his forehead: "I didn't want to hurt them!"

"You had to," Jaebum said, holding him and Youngjae close. "You did what you could, Jackson. You did so well."

Jackson pressed his face against Jaebum's chest, shaking. Youngjae stroked his hair, talking in low tones. He must be so devastated, Mark thought. It was against everything in Jackson to use his strength against people like that.

"Jackson," he called and the psychic peered tearfully at him. "Thank you. You stopped me from doing something horrible."

"Oh, _hyung_ ," Jackson said and rubbed at his eyes like a small, tired child.

Yugyeom and BamBam leaned on each other. BamBam's hair was a mess, one sleeve torn, but his expression was that of a triumphant warrior. Yugyeom stared at him as if his mate was drenched in gold and pearls.

The Queen said, "Let me through," and when their clan parted, Kamaria said to Mark, "Your parents are outside. We brought them with us."

"My parents...here? How?" Mark stared up at her, his vision shifting between spectrums. Her incredible powers were now muted, so he should not have been able to see delicately cold glow at the moment. Yet, he could. 

"Linel," Kamaria answered simply, motioning to someone behind her. Mark's poor brain whirled in exhausted circles for a long moment, unsure who or what _Linel_ might be. He felt so slow when he recalled: the Seer. The Queen's Mate, the one who had named him as the Seventh Heir.

The Seer stepped forward, their expression uncertain. They smiled nervously at Mark, wringing hands together.

Kamaria touched them on the elbow, a comforting motion. She said, in tones of sweet admiration: "Linel woke your Jackson so he could stop the psychokinetics. It was almost too late." Linel's visage became even more apprehensive, but they took a deep breath to speak.

"Mark," they said. "You always were a puzzle to me. All the other Six were so clear in their potential, and you never were. Every time I tried to look, it was _confusing_ , but--"

The Queen spoke up for her Mate when their voice trailed off. "Linel had a vision a few days ago. It was...unsettling. Mostly because they could see two equally probable futures."

"I see the Might Once Hidden in the West, the Inferno," Linel murmured, dark gaze distant. "Without his mate, he is rage and fire. He burns this world. He makes it ash and smoke. He boils the waters from the oceans. Nothing remains."

"...how," Mark croaked out. "How did you--"

"I see the Might Once Hidden in the West, the Incandescent," Linel repeated, and Mark was suddenly sure that the Seer was not in the present anymore. He was also caught up in a wave of utter disbelief at the Seer's words. This...this couldn't be true. "He sees much, and is slow to wrath. He is light and warmth. The Mate of the Incandescent is both his catalyst and his control." Linel shivered, looked from side to side, frowned at the destroyed room and then gazed down at the Queen. "Kam? Did I--"

"You did, but it's okay," Kamaria said, reaching down to grasp the Seer's larger hand in hers and squeeze it lightly. She turned to the interrogating panel, and shook her head.

"After Linel told me what they saw, we barely had enough time to rush here. All my reign, I have followed the example of the previous Queens and Kings, and I've allowed the Tribunal to manage the overarching policies of our nation. This will not continue. You were about to bring on unthinkable destruction through your actions."

"They didn't follow protocols," Roberta said, her voice weak.

"You would kill over _protocols_ ," the Queen intoned, incredulous. "An Ability-Human like Mark's Mate is--what is your name, dear?"

"She's asking your name," Mark told Jinyoung.

"I know," Jinyoung said with a slight smile and said, in oddly inflected but completely comprehensible English: "My name is Jinyoung."

"Thank you, Jinyoung. He would have not been prepared to withstand a breaking." Her face was hard. "I am the Queen of the Moon, known for the defence of Ability-Human rights...and I will defend them, even against their own. You will all be placed under review by Tribunal and the Court of Advisors. A report of this panel's actions will also be made to the Union of Human Ability Clans."

"They will agree that he did not Court properly," one of the humans said, aiming for righteousness and missing. "And they are _broken_! They can never be bonded again!"

"They have already repaired their bond," the Seer said, with a lopsided smile. The panel's astonishment was palpable. They stared at Mark and Jinyoung, faces drawn tight.

The Queen told them, "Linel informed me that Jinyoung could be the descendant of the Breaker...but he has proven to be more of a healer. If the Courtship was acceptable to the First Heir and his mate, then I and my Advisors support their bond."

"Wait, wait." Mark bit his lower lip for a moment; his throat was dry and his skin felt too warm. "I'm...I'm not the First Heir. That's Alexis, she's--"

"Mark," Linel said, softly. " _You_ are the First Heir now. You are the Heir Apparent. Kamaria is the Moon Queen. You will be the Fire King."

"He's _not_!" Proctor Pryce burst out. He puffed like a raging bull, one side of his hair a crisply burnt mess. "How can he be?"

"What are they _saying_?" Yugyeom demanded. Mark, completely bewildered, did a quick and dirty translation. "Oh. Well, _obviously_."

"You saw him just now," Jaebum spoke up, anger glowing deep red in his eyes. "He nearly turned all of you to charcoal. If Mark-hyung's not the First Heir, then I would like to see _who is_."

Mark felt his cheeks warm, and stammered. "H-he said--"

"I told them," Jackson said with a gentle smile. "Hyung...one day, you'll be the King."

 _Depend on me_ , Jinyoung told him, even as Mark felt himself sink into a morass of stunned panic. _I am with you...all the way_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so in this AU each vampire monarch has an elemental or nature-based symbol, relating to their powers. I chose the Moon as one of the Queen's symbolic titles because it's supposed to represent a capacity for reflection, adaptation, enlightenment, relationships and mediation. Mark is Fire because of the duality hahah yesssssss!
> 
> Also, yes: Linel is non-binary, which is why the pronouns are like that.
> 
> I really like hearing what you think! Please leave comments or if you want to drop me a line on Tumblr, I am [megs-got-all7](https://megs-got-all7.tumblr.com/)!


	10. I've told a million lies (but now I tell a single truth)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _No. I can't be the First Heir. I'm not._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to cureyourtemper@tumblr for the beta! Any mistakes are because I was messing with it AFTER my beta looked at it. Please enjoy!
> 
> This is the last chapter. Thank you for following along and leaving such kind comments. I will try to answer them  
> all, but if I don't manage to, PLEASE know that I am so grateful for your support. I really enjoyed writing this because of you guys.
> 
> The chapter title is from I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons. I made a [playlist on youtube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL08mY9N_EEaB_MnbX3jBfBVxn7CmNVwWF) of the chapter titles because I'm not cool enough to figure out other platforms.
> 
> Take good care of yourself, until next fic!

Mark’s harried mind leaped from thought to impossible thought. He clenched his hands to stop them from shaking, but it was no use. A headache took up residence behind his eyes, hammering away so hard that he could hear every thud.

 _No_ , he told himself. _No_. _I can't be the First Heir. I'm not. No._

... _Mark_? Jinyoung's soft voice tried to break through the spiraling hurricane of his panic, but Mark barely heard it. He glanced at the wreckage around them, chairs and benches lying on their sides in pitiable postures, scorch marks on the walls all the way up to the ceiling...where there _was_ a ceiling at least. Mark stared at the night sky through huge holes in the thick concrete slab.

The Heir had done this. _He_ had done this. He was--

_Mark._

\--a _monster--_

 _That's quite enough,_ Jinyoung thought primly. Mark had the sensation of being seized, spun around and then pulled downward. He blinked against a darkness so sudden and so thick that it pressed against his eyeballs, soothing away that throbbing pain. He remembered this place; this was where Jackson had lost him that time.

This place was Jinyoung's.

 _I don't know how I'm doing this,_ Jinyoung said from all around him. _So please don't ask me. But it felt like the right choice. You need to calm down._

 _I'm calm,_ Mark lied and regretted that instantly when the shade of Jinyoung's thoughts took on a disappointed and disapproving air _._

A soft light warmed in the distance, and that lovely white-and-brown fish came into view. With languid sweeps of its fins, it swam towards him, watching him with large gleaming eyes as it approached.

 _You know you shouldn't lie to your mate._ Jinyoung's voice was a soft murmur. _And you know you should trust your mate, right_?

Mark sighed, and hung his head. One gauzy fin trailed against his cheek as the fish swam around behind him. _I know those things, yes._

On his other side, Jinyoung in his true form completed the circle around Mark, fingers stroking his jaw to underneath his chin, tipping his face back up. His dark gaze locked with Mark's, the expression intent.

_Then you will believe me when I say you are not a monster._

_Then why were you afraid_? Mark challenged, and Jinyoung blinked. _You said you were afraid. When you woke up, from when the--…_ He paused, trying to collect his thoughts from the horror of that moment. _You saw the Heir. You said you were afraid, Jinyoung._

 _I wasn't afraid of you._ Jinyoung stared at him incredulously. _I know you would never hurt me. I was afraid_ for _you._

Tears welled up in Mark's eyes at this unadorned truth and he fought them back, because they blurred his view of Jinyoung's face. 

Jinyoung smiled at him, so warmly. _All I could sense was…it was all light and heat, Mark, even in your head. The Heir just wanted to burn everything for me, and once it started, it would never stop. You'd never come back._

 _If they'd killed you_ , Mark assured him, _there'd be no reason to come back. You nearly got yourself killed trying to protect them. They didn't deserve your protection_. Underneath their feet, the ground shifted. The Heir stirred at Mark's bubbling anger.

 _It's not about if they deserve it or not,_ Jinyoung said, eyes now flashing in sharp displeasure. _It's about the fact that I would rather die than lose you to that fire again. The First Heir is meant to defend...but not just me._

Mark gaped at him; there was so much to unpack, so his mind seized on the first thing it could manage. _You can't believe I'm the First_.

Jinyoung's response was quick and confident. _I can't believe you're not. You don't see what I see, Mark. You don't see how amazing you are_.

 _Jinyoung,_ Mark breathed, stepping towards him. He paused and then tilted his head. _Do you hear that?_ It was a very distant sound, as if someone was shouting at the very top of their lungs from a few houses away.

 _It's Jackson._ Jinyoung's mouth twisted into a wryly amused line. _He's been yelling like that for awhile_.

 _What?_ Mark thought and then let out a breath as the destroyed room wisped around them, firming into reality. "Wait, _what_?" he muttered out loud, stomach lurching queasily. To be pulled back like that was a little bit nauseating.

"I'll get the hang of that some day, promise," Jinyoung told him, an unrepentant grin pulling his lips wide. He gazed up and sighed. "And this too, I guess."

Mark looked up as well. Jinyoung's barrier gleamed around them, the curve of it catching the light from some of the wall-sconces. On the other side of it, their small but determined clan stared at them, with the Queen and her mate standing nearby. Jackson had his arms raised, in the obvious position of beating his fists against Jinyoung's barrier. BamBam's eyebrows were raised as if he'd caught them in some compromising position. Yugyeom and Youngjae had very puzzled expressions on their faces, while Jaebum appeared almost bored, if not for the pinched skin between his brows.

The barrier dissolved with a soft pop and Jackson nearly tumbled over, if not for Youngjae seizing him around the waist.

"Hey, why did you lock us out?" Jackson grumbled, cuddling back into Youngjae's embrace. He narrowed his eyes at Mark and Jinyoung in a comical fashion.

"I'm sorry," Jinyoung told them with a very small smile and Jackson wrinkled his nose. "I think it's a reflex. I'll just have to get used to it."

There were paramedics in the room as well, mostly vampires with a few humans. Mark watched as they attended to the guards and slowly revived the witches, who gazed around themselves in deep confusion. Jackson slipped behind Jaebum and Youngjae when their gazes landed on him, his ears red, but they didn't seem to recognize him at all. As the young witch, Elizabeth, approached their group, Mark stepped in front of Jinyoung, facing her. He felt part of his mind flex, preparing to release the Heir once more. She blinked at him with large, watery eyes; with a great deal of regret he noted that the ends of her hair were singed, and there was a large streak of soot on her cheek.

"My father was afraid," she said to Mark, picking her way through the words very carefully. "They were all afraid of your mate."

"They were mistaken," Mark answered, trying to soften his tone a little, but it didn't seem to work. A sheen of fear tightened her features. "I'm sorry I...tried to hurt them," he tried and grimaced at his own clumsy way with words. "I wanted to protect him."

Elizabeth nodded very slowly. She glanced at Jinyoung and to Mark's great surprise, a small smile touched at her mouth. "Can you tell your mate that he belongs to our clan? He's one of us, and he needs training."

Jinyoung's shock bled through their bond as Mark quickly sent the interpretation to him. When Mark turned to look at him, Jinyoung had one hand on his chest, eyes wide with query.

"You're a psychokinetic," Elizabeth insisted. "A strong one. First Heir, let me talk to my father and the other heads of our clan. A person like your mate, he needs the support of people who are like him."

Mark was about to refuse outright, but then he pressed his lips together. Despite how he felt, this was not his decision to make. "What do you think?" he asked Jinyoung, who simply stared at him for a very long beat.

"I think she's right," he finally answered. "I don't know how to properly deal with my Abilities and Jackson's powers are different from mine. I want to get training from them...but just not right now. Give her time to convince her clan that I'm not anything like the Breaker."

Elizabeth seemed satisfied with Mark's translation of Jinyoung's words. "When you're ready, you come to us. I'll prepare for you," she said, offering them both a short bow. She walked over to where the paramedics waited with the rest of the witches, and she gripped her father's wrinkled hand as he was wheeled out.

"If you're going to the States, we are all going," Jaebum said quickly. "Jinyoung might end up in a clan of witches, but we were his clan first. I mean...apart from your actual family, of course," he finished in a gruff mode.

"Of course," Jinyoung murmured, his calm tone belying the happy comfort in the feeling he broadcasted to Mark. 

"Mark." Queen Kamaria approached, followed by her mate, and he fought to school his expressions; however, the indulgent cast to her face when he finally looked at her told him that he needed to work on that a little more. "Do you know the population of vampires in the United States?"

He felt his forehead crumple at that extremely basic question. There were so many, from all regions of the world: from the Eastern Caribbean _soucouyant_ , to the _talamaur_ of the South Pacific. 

"The American Monarch and the Vampire Court represents _all_ vampires in our country," Kamaria told him before he could recite the answer, her voice soft. "Our power is meant to protect them, and our status to guide our people. You can't run away from that...not anymore."

Mark took a deep breath, and steeled himself. He felt Jinyoung's support, and saw the gathering of his friends around him, watching him with encouraging expressions. He let out the breath and said, "Alexis will have a problem with this."

Alexis Brenton, the original First Heir, was from a proud and very large clan in Louisiana. Mark remembered her being very tall, muscular, and very confident. When she had been named the First Heir, her entire clan had celebrated for a week.

"If Alexis and her clan want to challenge your position, they are allowed that right," Kamaria said. "But you must understand, that the True First Heir has revealed itself in you. They must decide if they want to confront that power." Kamaria suddenly turned away from them, her small mouth curled into a concerned frown. "Linel," she said to her mate. "You mustn't blame yourself. No Seer can pick up every possibility. You know this."

Linel had been shrinking into themself until they seemed to be a very small pile of person. Their self-doubt was apparent as they shook their head. "Kam...this was _important._ I should have seen this catalyst for Mark. I should have seen _him_."

To Mark's surprise, Linel did not point in his direction; their shaky finger was directed at Jinyoung.

"He's different," Mark told Linel, who folded in their lips as their gaze stuttered between him and his mate. "He's not the Breaker, but he's just as strange."

"Hey," Jinyoung muttered from behind him, poking him in the back. Linel sighed and straightened up, though their shoulders still slumped.

"Your parents want to see you," they said, trying to smile. "They've been waiting for some time."

When Mark stepped out into the corridor, he spotted his father and mother by the front door, arm in arm. A few others in his family-clan, including his parents' mates, stood waiting; a collective sigh of relief wafted from the whole group as soon as they spotted him. He found himself enfolded first in his father's firm embrace, then his mother wriggled her way in. Her arms were so slender but full of a determined strength as she hugged him until his ribs felt on the verge of cracking.

When they reluctantly broke apart, his father said, "Let me look at you." He cupped Mark's face and stared at him for a very long time. Mark saw a strange mix of pride and fear in his father's intent expression. "I see. It is true what the Seer says," he finally concluded, letting his hands fall. To Mark's utter shock, he watched as his father wiped away tears. His mother's mouth twisted, but she managed a bright smile, patting Mark's cheek fondly.

"Where is your mate? I must meet him," she demanded, and Jinyoung stepped forward with a smoothness that belied the nerves which twanged between himself and Mark. Jinyoung introduced himself in English, and Mark's mother seized his hand, dragging him close. To Jinyoung's credit, his protective bubble didn't pop up as she pulled him into her arms, hugging him as well. She was so very careful, restraining herself so she would not hurt him.

"Welcome to our clan," she whispered. "We receive you with joy and gratitude. Your life is now under our protection and our care."

"There should be a proper ceremony!" his father boomed after those official words of reception, from a Clan to a new Mate. He spread his arms in that gregarious manner that Mark loved, even though his eyes still shone. "Drinks! And music! Dancing!"

"Did someone say _ceremony_?!" BamBam hollered and rushed forward, dragging a blushing Yugyeom in his wake. Mark had often spoke of each group to the other, but this was the first time they had all officially met in person. He watched as Jaebum and his father descended into Very Serious Conversation, and heard his mother's high laughter as BamBam and Jackson told her some hilarious story. A few members of his family-clan looked at Jaebum, Jackson and Youngjae in a slightly sideways fashion; but Mark's father simply glared at them, his eyes simmering red until they hurriedly composed themselves.

Mark looked back to where yellow-vested workers tried to set the ruined room to some order, struggling to move chunks of wall and roof that the Heir had dislodged so easily. He worried the inside of his lower lip with his teeth as he took in the damage he had wrought in such a short time. He didn't regret it in a way, not when he had his mate to protect. Still...it wasn't something of which he felt particularly proud. The violence had been so swift, so uncontrollable. Or rather, he had not done much to control it.

Well. From now on, he would do his best to be more disciplined, and channel himself more effectively. He'd ask Kamaria to teach him how she managed that nebulous but sweeping power of her Heir.

By the time Jinyoung took his hand, the guilt and doubt did not go away, but he felt better able to bear it.

"When you become King, will they call me Queen Jinyoung? Will we wear crowns?" his mate asked lightly, and grinned when Mark laughed.

"They don't wear crowns. And one of your titles will just be The Mate of the King," Mark mock-lectured, enjoying the warmth of his mate's palm against his before he realised what he'd said. _The Mate of the King._

The _King._ "Jinyoung," he started, faltering slightly. Jinyoung waited. "The rest of this...from now on, I mean. It won't be easy. You know that, right?"

Jinyoung nodded. Right now, his mind was a wide, calm sea and Mark sailed safely on it. "I know. But you have the others, right? You have your parents, your clan…and you have me."

Deep within, the Heir rested under layers of molten consciousness, and rumbled in patient contentment. Mark tested his hold and found it firm, then nodded to himself. He was the First Heir now, and his Heir was fire manifest; Mark still wasn't too sure what to feel about that. Soon he would have confrontations and responsibilities; he would have to make decisions that not everyone would like or agree with. He would have a Council. He would be the head of an entire nation.

For so many years, he had run away from even the faintest prospect of this. Now, he stood hand in hand with his mate, contemplating the inevitable path of his life.

"Yes," he murmured, drinking in Jinyoung's smile. "I have you."

_fin_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is for my sister who was always eager to read up on kpop vampires


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